I have been so lucky to have spent close to two weeks housesitting for a lovely family. It's been so wonderful having two beautiful pets to play with and care for: a friendly ginger girl cat, and Pappi the Papillon.
Papillon is French for 'butterfly': this is one of the oldest small companion dog breeds, known for their feathery flourish of fur, especially on their tails and tips of their ears, which look like cute furry butterflies. Pappi's breed is known for being friendly, energetic, playful, affectionate, and protective of his home. (Isn't life so much better with amazing animals?) With his big puppy-dog eyes, I was 'owned' within a few minutes of spending time with him.
Even though he has long, beautiful fur, Pappi's torso is still vulnerable to the cold and wind. To make sure he still gets to enjoy the great outdoors, Pappi gets his knitted jumper to put on when we go out for a walk on the beach (tooo cute).
Pappi looks very distinct, and in my eyes he is incredibly adorable. He does not look like 'every other dog' for sure: he is not of average appearance, or size. People's response to him is not lukewarm either: most people's face break into a big smile when they see him. Some look slightly bemused by this cute little spirited thing (who seems to believe he is one big giant wolf! I guess they are related after all...), carrying on his beach walk with his tail and ears indicating which direction the wind was coming from.
The other reaction some people give seems to be that he looks too odd for their liking; maybe they are earnest fans of giant dog breeds, or hold a certain belief of how a dog should look..
So, that is harmless, out of Pappi's (or my) control, how others see and respond to him. Everyone has their own personal preferences after all, and as long as they don't try to make someone else adopt their own views and agree to them, diversity makes life interesting, right?
What I noticed about Pappi was that HE was not bothered at all.
He is Pappi: he has poochy things to do, and priorities include sniffing around, trying to find out where other dogs have been, and er, joining in the messaging game (marking every twig he comes across if he can help it).
He loves to be outside, he is safe, and his companion is right there by him, and he is enjoying his day, and his life. Others' opinions are not touching him at all. If they indicate delight with him, he is very happy to reciprocate and enjoy meeting new people, if he likes them. He does not waste his time trying to get people who are not interested, to like him back.
I feel inspired by Pappi, don't you?
Have a wonderful week ahead.
Love,
Candace
P.S He is sleeping on my lap right now :)
Candace Loy is a water baby, who aligned her life to live, learn and play ocean.
She is currently based in New Zealand, working on sustainable seafood research, and also helping mermaids at heart to create fun, fulfilling and joyful lives through self-care, journaling journeys, and one-of-a-kind ocean adventure and creative retreats.
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