Not long ago, International Dog Day came and went.<\/p>\n
I didn’t say anything particularly special about it because Beata beat me to it. That day, she shared her story so sincerely and beautifully\u2014a story in which two “fairy-tale characters” appeared side by side: a baby and a dog.<\/p>\n
Two newcomers to this vast, adventure-filled world.<\/p>\n
Both eager to explore it.<\/p>\n
At the very same time.<\/p>\n
My story was almost identical.<\/p>\n
Mykolas and Ego\u2014practically twins.<\/p>\n
Both born in 2021.<\/p>\n
My confidence that I’d have enough time for both of them was every bit as strong as Beata’s.<\/p>\n
We’ll go to training together.<\/p>\n
We’ll walk every forest trail.<\/p>\n
We’ll take our four-legged companion everywhere we go.<\/p>\n
I somehow forgot that a family of five\u2014and everything that comes with traveling: a stroller, fishing gear, and all the other essentials\u2014might require something closer to a minibus… with a trailer.<\/p>\n
And even then, I’m not sure it would all fit.<\/p>\n
Especially once you add everyone’s bicycles.<\/p>\n
And, of course, the newest member of the family wasn’t just any puppy.<\/p>\n
He was a full-sized German Shepherd.<\/p>\n
Actually, we didn’t buy a shepherd.<\/p>\n
We bought Rex.<\/p>\n
Inspector Rex, naturally.<\/p>\n
The one from the TV series who’s always portrayed as being smarter than the humans around him.<\/p>\n
Was my “double trouble” plan all sunshine and wildflowers?<\/p>\n
Oh, not even close.<\/p>\n
There was everything.<\/p>\n
Including more than a few tearful moments when I wondered if perhaps…<\/p>\n
pregnancy hormones had temporarily clouded my judgment.<\/p>\n
But whichever way you look at it, there wasn’t much point in trying to figure out who had inspired the decision.<\/p>\n
As Beata said in her story:<\/p>\n
Did you make a decision that wasn’t entirely the right one? Pull yourself together\u2014and make it flourish.<\/p>\n
The “twins” stayed.<\/p>\n
Both loved.<\/p>\n
Both wonderfully wild.<\/p>\n
Now they’ve both grown up.<\/p>\n
Ego has already turned five, and Mykolas will catch up with him this autumn.<\/p>\n
And while the things they come up with sometimes make it genuinely believable that they’re twins…<\/p>\n
life has found its rhythm.<\/p>\n
I often catch myself thinking that there may be no better school for teaching kindness, empathy, and caring than growing up alongside a dog.<\/p>\n
This morning I woke up early.<\/p>\n
Pulled the curtain aside.<\/p>\n
Looked outside.<\/p>\n
Something white lingered in the distance.<\/p>\n
Looks like fog, I thought.<\/p>\n
I grabbed the leash and headed into the forest before work to walk Ego.<\/p>\n
And there…<\/p>\n
Honestly…<\/p>\n
It felt like paradise.<\/p>\n
I smiled to myself and thought,<\/p>\n
“Just don’t walk toward the light.”<\/p>\n
In all my years of walking a dog, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a morning rising out of a blanket of mist quite like that one.<\/p>\n
By the time we made it back home,<\/p>\n
the fog had completely disappeared.<\/p>\n
I gave Ego a gentle pat on his big head.<\/p>\n
“Do you know,” I said,<\/p>\n
“that because of you, I get to see so many beautiful, inspiring things?”<\/p>\n
They say dogs don’t smile.<\/p>\n
But I’m pretty sure…<\/p>\n
he smiled at that.<\/p>\n
Mua,
\nV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-23833","istorija","type-istorija","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.devbrothers.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija\/23833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.devbrothers.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.devbrothers.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/istorija"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.devbrothers.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}