Kerry here. I'm mostly blogging at designthislife.blogspot.com now but sometimes I get all crazy and post here, too. Labels I'm proud of: professional actress, vegan, momma to one handsome pup, happy. www.kerryalexander.com {photo by www.danielsilbert.com}
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Brooklyn
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Check out the new Ballerina Project blog.
Gorgeous.
Skyping with Henry. Big Friday night :)
“Um, mom? I’m trying to work here. Thanks.”
Friends & Followers: I’m blogging over at Design This Life. I’ll still blog here (please, like you could get rid of me) but I wanted to create a space just for life coaching posts & a place where clients can go to check in and interact.
Oh. Did I mention I’m life coaching? It’s true, I am. I’m kind of over the moon about it - and you better believe that before a friend talked me into doing the training intensive, I was such a hater. I mean… “life coaching” … it kind of sounds like bullshit, no? But it has nonstop changed my life since I decided to give it a try. In the meantime, I’m working on thinking of a new name for it. Besides, haters gonna hate, it’s cool - I’m just gonna Love :o)
Someone got a new rope toy & someone is very excited about it. (Taken with instagram)
Little man.
New Jersey / July 29, 2011.
365 Days Later:
A year ago today, right around this time of day, my doorbell rang.
Waiting outside was a woman I’ve never met before who was holding one end of a skinny blue leash. The other end was attached to the harness of a shy, nervous dog named Henry.
It was love at first sight.
I honestly can’t believe I’ve been the proud owner (read: Mama) to this little pup for a whole year and more over, I can’t believe the immense changes I’ve seen in him.
This is Henry the day he arrived. He looked like an old man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He refused to be further than a foot away from the dining room table, which provided a nice structure to hide under. He wouldn’t play, didn’t bark and looked like he was going to puke any second.
This is Henry today, a year later, on the exact same floor. He is vibrant, playful, loving, cuddly, trusting (mostly), my protector and barks like a mad man. When he is on a bark rant and driving me and everyone around me crazy, I think about how he didn’t bark for weeks and I can’t get myself to shush him. He is so vocal and expressive and seems to understand plain english quite well - if I ask him does he want to go on a w-a-l-k, he barks! When we get in, I ask him to please go have some water from his dish and off he trots. If he does something naughty, I explain to him what would be better next time and he makes the adjustments accordingly. I know this sounds crazy but trust me, it’s even crazier to observe.
If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I was not in a good place this time last year. I fully and firmly stand by the belief that why I am light years away from where I was, is largely in part due to Henry. It’s impossible to stay in a negative mindset when there is this face staring at you every morning or paws tapping you to wake up.
Henry has lived with me in multiple states in lots of different locations. He has taken an East coast road trip with me and stayed in hotels. He’s taught me how to raise my standards and that treats - edible or not - are crucial in life. He’s taught me how to speak up and how to protect another living thing. Most importantly, he’s taught me how to love and be loved. He is without a doubt the single greatest thing that has ever existed in my life.
Recently, I had to do an assignment that included asking people the question “what does everyone know about you?” - every person included the fact that I have a dog named Henry who I love more than anything. Every. Person.
If at any point you decide you have the time and love for a dog, please adopt. The best feeling in the world is knowing that I’m the reason he’s done a total 180 - that all of the patience, lessons, struggles and work to show him that humans are, in fact, good, has completely changed him. Hen could be the poster puppy for adopted dogs - all he needed was someone who loved him, to find his person, and he became the best dog in the world. And please, if you have a dog you’re struggling with, get a trainer or get educated but don’t give up on him. As I’m writing this, he’s fast asleep next to me, paws splayed out and perfectly content on ‘his’ couch. I can’t imagine if he was still in foster care looking for his human.
I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it a million times more: I may have rescued Henry but Henry saved me. And a year later, he continue to.
This is happening right now. He is holding his favorite monkey.. I’m so in love with him!
Sometimes I forget how tiny he is.
It really must be terrifying how everything is so much bigger than him. The sound and movement of a truck barreling down the street is enough to freeze him in his tracks, panic covering his face. I get frustrated, tugging at the leash, pleading with him to keep moving, keep moving, Henry. I forget how little he is and that I’ve uprooted him to a new city where everything is scary and loud and new.
Sometimes he surprises me. When I realized that he’s finally grasped a new command - fetch monkey - I was so happy I cheered and did a little victory dance every time he ran to get his toy monkey and brought it back to me, dropping it at my feet. When the woman at the dog park waved us over, I shook my head nervously.
“I don’t know how he’ll be. We’ve never been in a dog park.”
“How else will you find out? Come on, he’s dying to play, look at him.”
I found my bravest self, went through the gate and unhooked his leash, bracing myself like a nervous mother convinced her son will be the one to break his leg at the playground. I watched as he hesitantly approached the other dogs and as they sniffed away, checking to see if he was good people (er, dogs). Every few minutes he came back to the bench I was on and placed his paws on my thighs with a look on his face that said, “Mom? Is this still okay? Mom?” and I’d give him a good scratch and scoot him back to the crowd. A pug showed up awhile later and Henry instantly disliked him. A few barks and one or two nips and we headed back home soon after.
It’s strange how important he is to me. I can rationalize that he is just a dog but I don’t buy into that idea in the least bit. The only times I’m really aware of how much he impacts me is when I plan my schedule around him - coming home a bit earlier, stopping in when I would have stayed out through a break in my day and so on. When I’m gone the entire day, I feel awful when I come home and see his little head pressed into the side of his bed, eyes looking at me like he thought I’d never return.
He just hopped up onto the couch and curled up right next to me. He’s insanely jealous of my laptop and often slams his paws onto the keys in an effort to get me to put it down. The way he teaches me things still blows my mind. I thought the lessons would stop but they just keep coming and lately the highlights are that agendas are meant to be flexible, communication rarely involves words and the people we love will lead us to other people we need in our life.
Pretty amazing for such a little guy.
True Story: We are in Love.
Quickly, on a Los Angeles-related, pet-related, dog-centric note:
This Sunday, March 13 is Woofstock 90210 at Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills. From 11am to 4pm there will be a ton of dog-friendly activities and hundreds of rescue dogs present for you to meet and/or adopt. I heard Saving SPOT!, the great rescue that we adopted Ninja from, will have a booth there; please check them out.
So yeah. I’m not sure who died and made me the dog adoption dictator, but I do know how happy that little Ninja face (above) makes me. If you have pets or are looking to adopt one, slide a little note onto your calendar and come out on Sunday.
I. Can’t. Even. With that snout. Oh my goodness. LA friends, go to & do! Make friends with other babies with little precious snouts like this that press their little wet noses into your hands but you don’t even care because you’re in love.
Woah, cute overload, okay, pulling it together, sorry internet, back to your kitten videos and what have you.
