The “Why” Behind Love, Laugh, Woof
by Lynn Stacy-Smith
In the world of the self-employed, entrepreneurs focus on the “why” that is driving them to pursue dreams that seem crazy to others. The “why” is that thing that makes them give up perfectly good, stable jobs. It is that thing that makes them work twice the hours that they would in a 9-5 job. It is that thing that drives them to work for literally no money for a very long time. The “why” is what they push back up to the front of their mind the hundred times a day they ask themselves the question, “Am I insane to try to do this?”
For the longest time I looked at my “why” for creating Love, Laugh, Woof as revolving around my human and dog family in my own home. After all, self employment offers flexibility so that I can be there for teenage taxi services (aka rides to and from extracurricular activities) and I can work at home with my dogs with me instead of at a corporate office. If I could succeed at writing about dogs and teaching people how to raise their dogs I wouldn’t need a dog sitter of my own to perform potty breaks and afternoon play time. Then there was my husband; I could spend long hours working when my husband was working and spend time with him when he was off.
Now, do not get me wrong. I live and breathe for my husband, dogs and human kids. They are a huge “why”for me. But they were also all quite satisfied and well cared for when I worked a corporate job. They still got all of my free time, plus I had a whole lot more discretionary income to spend on them. So I missed a lot of band concerts and sporting events and was still grumpy and aggravated by office politics and suburban traffic upon my arrival home, that was normal for working parents.
In the last few weeks, though, I had a massive awakening, a mind-blowing revelation and huge “A-HA!!!!!” moment that the “why” for Love, Laugh, Woof is ALL ABOUT the millions of dogs who are not Jackson and Tinkerbell, who are not in loving forever homes with organic food, plenty of affection and a doting human mother. I am doing this not because I couldn’t walk down the same well-worn hallway in the cube farm or spend another day teaching another college bookstore manager how many textbooks to order, I am doing this to save dog’s lives!!
My “why” is the approximately 760,000 dogs who are relinquished to shelters because their owners do not have time for them!
My “why” is the approximately 760,000 dogs who are relinquished to shelters because of behavioral issues!
My “why” is the approximately 2,204,000 dogs who are relinquished to shelters because their owner cannot find a dog friendly place to live!
These numbers are from the ASPCA Pet Statistics web page and are approximate, but they still show that owner surrenders contribute hugely to the heart wrenching shelter problem. If these dogs got out of the shelter and into a happy new home, it would be one thing. But 31% of dogs who go into animal shelters (from all sources, not just owner surrenders) are killed every year. Many owner surrenders never leave the shelter again.
These numbers are despite incredible efforts and the nonstop work of dog lovers who work on spay/neuter programs, stopping puppy mill operations and pet shop sales, and on increasing the adoption of shelter animals. These numbers also do not include strays who are also in dire need of forever homes and are on their own because they were simply allowed to run loose, intentionally cast off into the world or lost without proper identification.
The “why” behind Love, Laugh, Woof is to influence in particular the dog owners who relinquish their dogs because they do not have all of the information that they need to be a forever owner.
The “why” behind Love, Laugh, Woof is to influence in particular the dog owners who relinquish their dogs because they do not have all of the information that they need to be a forever owner. Maybe they were not educated enough about dogs before buying a dog, whether it was about how to approach dog ownership with housing in mind, what to expect in terms of time commitment, how to work with a temporary time constraint, who to seek in the event of behavioral issues. Maybe they have been through a major life change and do not know how to work through a new situation and keep their dog in their home. My mission is to help decrease the number of owner surrenders who could be prevented by teaching their owners how to be forever owners.
As an avid social media user I see endless posts about dogs who need new homes because they shed too much, they had too much energy, a new baby was born, the owner did not have time for the dog, and all sorts of other reasons that can be fixed or prevented. It is daily and it tortures me to see them. My “why” is to help people in these situations, to perhaps show them another alternative, a way to keep their dog with them.
I am blessed that along with a “why” I also have a “how”. My “how” is through using my background as a corporate trainer and my writing ability, combined with my lifetime of raising dogs. I am thankful every single day of my life that I have some of the tools that I need to help solve the problem that keeps me up at night, that tortures me when I log onto social media, wanting only to see what my friends had for dinner, what their kids were for Halloween or bought on their latest shopping trip.
My “how” also includes you, my followers, friends and family. I need you to help me spread the word, to share the message, the excitement of Love, Laugh, Woof. I ask you to share your commitment to being your dog’s owner forever owner, what that means, and how you are doing that. I need you with me on this mission so we can truly get the word out that dog ownership is forever, that there are educational resources for dog owners, and that they can learn to be forever owners like you are.
Maybe we cannot impact hundreds of thousands of dogs lives, and maybe we can. At least once a day I think, “you are insane, what are you doing, go back to the cube farm” and the other 23 hours and 59 minutes and 55 seconds of the day I remember that I am JerseyStrong, that I was raised to work nonstop on a goal, that this is what I have a heart for, and that I was raised along side these beautiful furry creatures that I love so much and I can finally give back to their species, and then I get back to work.
If we help even one dog owner be more compassionate, be more understanding, more willing to see what it is like to live life as a dog in a human world, then we are on our way to fulfilling the “why” behind Love, Laugh, Woof. If we help one dog owner see that maybe they don’t have to surrender their dog to the shelter, that they can solve different issues or work through situations that might be putting their dog’s future in peril, we are on our way to fulling the “why” behind Love, Laugh, Woof. If we prevent one dog owner from dropping their dog off at a shelter or listing them on Craigslist, we are on our way to fulfilling the “why” behind Love, Laugh, Woof.
If we help one dog, that one dog will be better off and we are one step closer to filling the “why” behind Love, Laugh, Woof. One step closer to filling OUR COLLECTIVE WHY.
Join the new Love, Laugh, Woof Forever Owners group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lovelaughwoofowners
This group serves the dual purpose of being a place for forever owners to socialize and enjoy the company of other dog owners as well as promoting the importance of responsible dog ownership for all the days of a dog’s life.