When I look at animals, I often wonder what goes through their mind. Our dog, Kona has her own personality and gets excited about virtually everything. Let’s take a look at a day in the life of our Kona girl according to her . . . . .
Around 7:00 each morning, I awake from my human’s couch upstairs or my bed in the basement and head to my Mom and Dad’s bedroom. I wait outside the door because for some reason, they don’t like me in their bedroom (They tell me they need privacy). If I don’t hear them getting up fast enough, I start to fuss because you know – I gotta go.
My human Mom gets up, opens the bedroom door and immediately says, “Good morning my good girl”. She looks down at me and smiles as I wag my tail – I love making her happy. She wastes no time in getting dressed up and outside we both go. After my business is done, it’s time to eat my breakfast. Both my human Mom and Dad warm up the water to put in my food so I have a hot meal just like them – it’s another reason to wag my tail in gratitude.
My Mom makes this special drink every morning that she says makes her taste buds happy. I know how she feels because treats do that same thing for me. As she makes breakfast for herself and gets ready for the day, my Dad opens up the bedroom door and sees me. This is such a special time for me because he loves to rub my ears and pat my belly soon after he wakes up.
He washes up and then he has his own breakfast. Patiently, I wait in the corner next to the heat as he finishes up. I can hear when he is almost done because the bottom of the bowl of cereal makes a noise that tells me that it’s almost time for my leftover milk. I can tell how happy it makes him to give me his leftovers and my heart bursts with joy as I slurp up his leftover yummy milk. There are some mornings that he has other food for breakfast and there isn’t any leftover milk. Because I have such beautiful eyes, he goes to the refrigerator and pours just a little milk into a bowl for me to lap up. That’s my man – always looking after me.
There are days in the week that my Dad leaves for hours at a time. I know the days when he does this because he wears certain clothes, a packed lunch is with him, and he lets me hug on him before he leaves. I put my head in his lap and he scratches my head, my ears, rubs my belly, and tells me to watch over my Mom while he is gone. 
After my Dad heads out, it is my duty to watch over my Mom. After she cleans up the kitchen, she makes herself another cup of that special drink and she heads upstairs to her special chair. She pulls out these long beads and sits quietly. She has done this more and more in the last year. She seems to be concerned about something because every once and awhile teardrops fall from her eyes. Because it is my duty to watch over her, I put my head on her lap and look up at her with my big brown eyes. That always works to bring her smile back. She then tells me that she loves me more which is one of her favorite things to say.
I stay upstairs to rest while she works, but if someone comes into our driveway, I let her know by barking loud. She immediately gets up and checks to see what is going on outside. She tells me what a good girl I am for protecting her and our home. She always gives me a special yummy treat when I do this so I’m happy to oblige. I have to sit first before I get it, but yummy treats are always worth the trouble.
We head outside for a little potty break late in the morning. If it isn’t bad weather, we go for a little walk. If the weather isn’t great, my Mom walks with me in our house. She loves to sing if we walk together in the house, but don’t tell her that her singing isn’t that great. I’m just doing my best to protect her and bring happiness to her even if that means I have to listen to her sing for a few minutes.
In the early afternoon, I get a little frisky. I do this to let my Mom know that she really needs to take a break from working. She thinks that I just want a little attention, but the truth is that she needs the attention. She needs to take good care of herself so she can give the world (her world is her family and that includes me) the best of her instead of what is left of her. She gets up, has a little snack, gives me another rub down, and does a few things around the house. Sometimes, she doesn’t take long enough so to make sure she continues to take the best care of herself, I do things that make her a little crazy.
I grab a shoe.
I go to the laundry and take a sock out and carry it around the house.
I grab one of my toys and run around the house with it. I get her attention and fast!
She eventually understands that she needs to take a break and takes me outside or just takes a few minutes for herself. I’m just following the orders of my Dad to take care of her.
There have been a few times that my Mom has had to help me out. Just a few months ago, I had an allergic reaction. We still aren’t sure what it was, but the vet thought it may have been a spider bite. I think I may have scared my Mom and Dad because I saw the worry in their eyes. I swelled up in my eyes, my ears, and my throat. My Mom took me to the vet to see what was going on and she started to cry because I was so sick. Even though I wanted to reassure her, it was time for me to get some emergency care. After a few days of getting violently ill and the medicine starting to work, I did get better. My Mom and Dad were right there every step of the way to make sure I took my medication, gave me chicken and rice (which was yummy by the way), and even gave me mushy food instead of dry food. When you love like my Mom and Dad do, you make sure to do everything you can to love back. They tell me all the time how much I bless them, but the truth is that they bless me.
On the days that my Dad is away, the telephone will ring in the late afternoon. He is calling my Mom to let her know that he is on his way home. She tells me that Daddy is coming home and I wag my tail as I know that as soon as he gets home, I get to go outside with him, get rubbed down, and when the weather is nice, I even get a brush down. If I could purr like a cat, I would. That is how great it feels!
My Mom and Dad make sure that I get my daily exercise. In the summer time, they take me swimming. Oh, how I love the water. I could stay in there all day long and even give them a hard time getting out. When they start to leave without me, I realize that I better get going. They wouldn’t be safe without me watching over them. 
In the winter, they take me outside and throw snowballs up in air for me to catch. If there isn’t snow on the ground, I have several orange balls that they throw for me to catch. It’s so much fun and makes me a very excited girl.
I also love to dig and my humans let me dig a great big hole in the backyard each year. They also have a little pool for me to swim in and make mud holes. Not only is it great exercise, but it also gives me so much enjoyment. I sleep so good after being able to get my exercise in. Hmmm . . . . . maybe that’s why they let me have so much fun. It’s allright – I won’t tell them that I know.
My Mom also loves to cook and several times a week, she peels carrots for dinner. I can hear her doing this and come a running. She lets me have a few raw carrots for a treat. Scrumptious!
After my Mom and Dad eat and start to clean up the kitchen, I like to see if any food made it to the floor. It might be a tiny morsel, but it’s totally worth investigating. They get my dinner ready and put it down for me. They give me this look that tells me it’s time to go into a down position. They won’t let me near my food unless I get my bum all the way down. Once and awhile, I try to sneak not doing this, but it doesn’t work and they make me wait even longer. I don’t make that mistake too often! Have you ever had the aroma of your good food waiting for you and you just can’t get to it? It isn’t fun so I do my duty and make them happy. It’s totally worth it!
After dinner, it’s time for my walk. The winter months are harder on my paws so this doesn’t happen as often which maybe the reason that I like the spring, summer, and fall more. My Mom tells me that I’m a lot like her – a fair weather girl. She takes me in the woods next to our home and the smells are so interesting that sometimes I don’t want to walk. I would rather sniff my way through the woods. She calls me Mrs. Sniffleupagus and lets me know that we are here to walk – not sniff. I have to listen because she will cut my walks short if I don’t. She means business and has had to teach me this a few times.
There is a special little girl that comes to visit to our home often. My Mom and Dad love to see her. She is their granddaughter and they love her to the moon and back. She loves to rub on my ears which only makes my love for her grow. Can you tell how lucky I am?
Actually, my Mom tells me that luck has nothing to do with it. To her, luck implies that you aren’t worthy. She always says that I am a blessing and that I am totally worth it. Her definition makes perfect sense.
After my walk, I love to rest close to my Dad. My Dad normally watches a few videos at night and if he wants a little snack, he makes popcorn. I’m so thankful that he loves to share because I jump for joy when he makes popcorn. It is so tasty!
Before my Mom and Dad head to bed, one of them takes me out for one last time for the day. When my Mom takes me out, she loves to look at the night sky. She tells me how beautiful God’s creation is. I never mind her looking up for a long while because it gives me one last opportunity in that day to sniff around. Things outside smell so different that curiosity gets me every time.
Sometimes, I don’t want them to go to bed so I stand close to them as long as I can. It’s hard to be separated from them. Occasionally, my Mom will put her hands on me and say lots of words that I don’t understand. What I can say is that the words always make me peaceful and sleep so soundly. She calls it prayer . . . I call it heavenly.
My daily life is awesome.
I have these two humans that feed me well, make sure I take care of myself with daily exercise, and teach me valuable lessons with good discipline. They say that I make them laugh and bring more life into our home.
I say laughter is the best medicine and doesn’t have any harmful side effects . . . . .
Maybe that’s what my purpose is.
Terri Trepanier is the owner of Balanced Care. Licensed in both Maine and NH, her specialty is working with small businesses, individuals, and families with their health and life insurance needs. She is certified to offer health plans both on and off the exchange and is contracted with every health insurance company in both New Hampshire and Maine. Her other passion is assisting Medicare beneficiaries with their Medicare Supplemental, Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans, and Medicare Advantage plans. Terri has seen firsthand the importance of insurance and works to “Insure Security and Peace of Mind one Family at a Time”.