Goose Bumps!
Isn’t that a great picture? Those were my family’s dogs in 1993, from left to right, Gentry, Duffy, Vicki, Annie, and Alf. In 2009 I started going to school at the University of Washington in the Psychology department and I was finally taking my first Animal Behavior class. These two seemingly unrelated facts became a goose bump creating event for me, here’s how….
I had never been to college at an age appropriate time so I started at Skagit Valley College and my naïve goal at the time was to be an applied animal behaviorist which is a PhD level degree. Little did I know what that really meant, believe me I am thrilled with my BA. I took a lot of classes that had nothing to do with animals and as a result I was struggling to decide if maybe it was time to change my focus after 20 years as a dog obedience instructor. I also love kids and wondered about becoming a teacher.
Let’s get back to UW and it is now the second day of the Animal Behavior class, there are about 300 students in the class and Dr. Mike Beecher is talking about Darwin and ‘natural selection’ vs ‘artificial selection’ when up on the big screen pops the above picture of my dogs. I was blown away, I wanted to raise my hands and say something but I refrained. I was really shook-up seeing my dogs in class and email Dr. Beecher after I got home and told him ‘never in a million years did I expect to see my dogs in his class!’ I asked where did he get the picture, he said he had been using the picture for so many years he did not remember where he got it, but thought the dogs looked so varied it was a perfect representation of artificial selection.
The next day Dr. Beecher introduced me to the class and told the story. Mike Beecher became a true mentor to me and had a huge influence on my education during my time at UW. Seeing my dogs on the big screen seemed to me to be a message to stay the course and continue assisting people as they learn to live successfully with their dogs. Thanks Gentry, Duffy, Vicki, Annie, and Alf for being there for me, as always!
I remember this time well. What a great group and what an amazing "if I only had known..." moment. Congratulations on sticking with it and going for your dream!
ReplyDeleteCarol, I remember a time in the early 90's when you came to visit us and brought your family of dogs. At first I wasn't sure what was going to happen as we did not have a fenced yard. After about 5 minutes I saw what a wonderful relationship you all had and how well behaved they were. You are a great animal teacher and trainer! Now if I could just get you to do something with my kid!!
ReplyDeleteGreat going on your business and blog! Keep up the good work.