Mental Health, Therapy DogsCandice WigginsNovember 13, 2020

Fur Therapy (Feat. Adonis)

Mental Health, Therapy DogsCandice WigginsNovember 13, 2020

My day with Adonis, my uncle’s adorably loving golden retriever.

The star of this blog: my Uncle’s dog Adonis. This is the “after” shot of Adonis and I after we completed our hike. We were tired, so please excuse and kindly forgive my face!

Disclaimer: Adonis is NOT a licensed trained certified therapy dog. He is, however, MY certified therapy dog. This blog aims to capture a moment on October 26, while we experienced magic together on this very windy day in early fall. A day when the season significantly changed. To put it lightly, we felt the force of fall season 2020 tremendously. But despite the wild resistance, Adonis chased after the wind! He was the MVP; however, today I learned how to lead with a leash. I will share some of the motivational moments we had, especially when it comes to fitness and training. There is also a wealth of great benefits to mental health that dogs have a lot to teach us about, and I aim to share what I believe this is as well.

Some background Information about Adonis:

He is around 12 or 13 years old. He is also highly sensitive about his age. For this reason, he (with my choice) should be considered strictly what I’m calling a “blog dog” and not an instagram dog. His favorite insta dog is @orangeboyphil however! (So feel free to follow Phil!)
The beauty mark (actually a stye) under his eye is ok. He is very happy and healthy!
His face coloring frames his face in the shape of a heart! Awww!

Before we got to work, I had Adonis pose for a picture. He was stubborn, but it only took 2 frames to capture this shot! He’s a natural born model dog!

Again, all it took was 2 clicks for this no-muss, no-fuss male model dog.

In this third and final shot, I was explaining to Adonis that it wasn’t about him, it was about this magnificent view we had come to at this moment in our hike. He understood, and his behavior from that point on changed during our long adventure day… — In this third and final shot, I was explaining to Adonis that it wasn’t about him, it was about this magnificent view we had come to at this moment in our hike. He understood, and his behavior from that point on changed during our long adventure day! Look at that street straight ahead! Sometimes it is best to take a break from the world around you and explore.

Our happy dog faces with happy dog breath.

The best part of this trip occurred when we returned to the civilization surrounding us, and we found ourselves back walking in the neighborhood streets. All of a sudden, Adonis challenged my fitness when he pulled the leash and refused to go back home. With this one deliberately rebellious action, he yanked my card, imploring me as his human master to practice what I preach and further explore more “un-walked” territory. Stunned, yet pleasantly surprised by his strong convictions (we were facing some significant gusts of winds this morning), I relented and together Adonis and I truly chased after the wind. It was exhilarating!

Extra benefit: The hills that we walked up and down also helped a lot with our fitness and I encourage those with dogs to try to condition yourself along with them, it works miracles and builds a solid foundation for the dog on which both they and you can depend.