Work

"It's must be so much work;" do you know how many times that I have heard this phrase in regards to my dogs? Three dogs; you have three dogs? What is work? To me when I say I have work to do it usually means something I'm not looking forward to. It doesn't have to be horrible but something that I am consciously thinking about having to do. My dogs are not that.

As a photographer the work I have to do is work up photos, process them from RAW to usable images. I'm not a fan of this process; I do enjoy PSing (Photoshopping) images, it is a great outlet for creative energy. I love capturing the images; this is not work. But it is not work because I have found what I love to capture; if I had to be a wedding photographer or portrait photographer I would ask that you please kill me. Another one of my jobs is a dog trainer; that is not work to me either, I love it. There are things about it like the paperwork that is work; I am not a big fan of paperwork and it does tend to be put off for later if at all possible.

Exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; this is one definition and pretty much sums it up. Work for me is something I'm not longing to do; not on my "want to do" list. So are my dogs work? Nope. I have never felt that my dogs are work; although if I do get the chance to get away alone for a bit I enjoy the fact that I don't have to care for anyone for a bit. Just like any Mom enjoys a break now and again.

I know that for many people having three dogs would be work; there is alot to do to be sure that they are all cared for properly. They have to be fed, picked up after, groomed, exercised, given mental stimulation and all the little things that keep them happy. For many people this would be too much; not something they would want to do. But just like everything else in our lives; we humans are different and what makes us tick is not what makes the kind standing next to you tick.

I remember before I moved to California; I stood looking at my two huge perennial gardens thinking that no one was going to want to keep these up. It was a passion of mine and I never considered it work; they were beautiful. When I returned that following year I visited my home to find my gardens in ruins; I was right. These gardens were alot of work if you weren't into gardening, but for me it had been my peaceful time; my passion.

So when I am preparing food at the crack of dawn or into the late hours of the evening, when I sit with my dogs heads in my lap scrapping teeth or plucking ears, when my back aches from bathing three dogs or when I have to wash 16 feet once again; filled with mud from a fun but muddy walk it is not work. No this is what you do when you live with dogs; if you want to live with dogs. And this is what makes me who I am. I love dogs; and especially my dogs.