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The ride of life with a dog
  • Surf Dog Diaries - dog blog
  • The ride of life with a dog
  • HANG 20 - DOG BEACH, CA
  • HANG 20 - DOG RIVER, OR
  • GIVING BACK
  • JOIN US
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Dogs ride the ups and downs with us. Real life Surf Dog Diaries

Meet writer dogs. Rider dogs. Best dog friends. Surf the couch, the www, or a wave. Wave back at us!

It's all about the ride. The ride of life with a dog.

Dude,   DogDiary.org  senior citizen reporter

Dude, DogDiary.org senior citizen reporter

About seeing. By Dude, the blind surf dog.

Barbara Ayers June 17, 2016

I could see for many years. But now that I'm blind, I see better than ever. Tips for better living. For people, of course. Dogs get it.

Advice for humans:

Take time to smell "the roses" (your words, not mine)... you know what I really mean.

1. Get right in there with your snout, and breath it in - deeply.

Life is Good - with smell. Oh yeeaaaahhhh. 

Scent is the strongest of senses, triggering more emotions and memories than vision, hearing and touch. It sounds weird, but ask any dog - any day. Blind dogs in particular - we are scent hounds.

For navigation, I zeroed in on my seeing eye dog brother Elvis. In particular, his stinky basset butt. Who needs eyes when you've got that super charged GPS unit guiding your way? 

Your human author friends know the importance of smell, too - they heard about it in writer's classes.

Dude "no eyes, no problem" Ayers - apres SUP (standup paddle boarding) session

Dude "no eyes, no problem" Ayers - apres SUP (standup paddle boarding) session

2. More Heart. Less Head. (Humans, repeat after me....)

Don't worry about all that dumb stuff. You know, the irritating small stuff you obsess over? Note to people: almost everything you think about is dumb.

Let it go. Be free. This is the most important point.

Don't worry about how you look.

3. Jump all in. Give your whole heart. Don't hold back. If you have baggage, get over It.

Learn to trust.
Learn to give.
LOVE. 

Me and my dog brothers are rescue dogs. We all had at least two moms before finding the third, the keeper. We wasted too much time worrying, running away and being bad dogs. Don't do that.

Listen. (Selective dog listening counts)
That's me, in the middle, in a two dog jibe - a downwind turn on a windsurfer. In the Columbia River Gorge. At this point, I still had one working eye.

That's me, in the middle, in a two dog jibe - a downwind turn on a windsurfer. In the Columbia River Gorge. At this point, I still had one working eye.

4. Surfing is life. The ups and downs - they ARE the ride.

Without downs, the ups aren't up.

I was in a lot of pain - glaucoma. Not treatable in dogs like it is in humans. I lost one eye several years ago. A year later, the other one went to heaven. So then I was totally blind.

It didn't change a thing. I'm a surfer, through and through. 

Step up to the nose, walk the board, adjust your weight.

Ride that wave. Strut your stuff.

5. Showing up is 99% of life.

Don't stay home.
Don't chicken out.
Don't be a no show.
So now I'm a blind surf pirate. How cool is that? At Doggie Dash, an Oregon Humane Society fundraiser.

So now I'm a blind surf pirate. How cool is that? At Doggie Dash, an Oregon Humane Society fundraiser.

6. SHOW don't TELL. Show you care. Life is short!

With a ratio of 1:7 human:dog years, there is not a moment to waste.

Life is short. Tell them you love them.

Speak. If you can't speak, use what you've got. Dogs are all about body language. Use your body. Your language.

Make your move. 

My favorite thing - windsurfing the Gorge. See it, smell it, feel it.

My favorite thing - windsurfing the Gorge. See it, smell it, feel it.

Now get out there and ride the waves of life. There's room on board with me!

Dude (the Dudester)

Surf Dog Diaries reporter
Tags surf dog, blind, Barb Ayers, Hood River, Oregon, Dog Beach, Dog Beach in Ocean Beach, Surf Dog Blog, Surf Dog Diaries, Dude, advice from the dog, beagle, basset hound, surfing, dog people, surf dogs, hang 20, dog blog, dog diary, Dude the dog, SUP dog, windsurfing, DogDiary.org
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Surf Dog Diaries.com

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Surf Dog Diaries  |  Barb Ayers and surf dog friends, Columbia River Gorge, OR.  |   All content and images (c) Barb Ayers, all rights reserved