Carmel Magazine

E very day, my dog Winifred reminds me that I'm still a work in progress. I don't know how I would have gotten through this year without her. Note: Your dog doesn't care a woof about your political persuasion. They do care about your physical and emotional well-being. You can't tell me your dog hasn't had to adjust to your emotional highs and lows the last 10 months. Winifred certainly has. And in the process, she has made me a kinder, gentler human. I talk to her with more quiet tolerance than I do most people. Including my wife! (No doubt Barbara would agree.) And it's not baby talk. It's talking to a sentient creature who may not understand my words, but reads my tone, emotion and intention perfectly. To show my appreciation for how she has kept me from my worst tendencies, stayed relatively sane, and cajoled me to reclaim my better angles these past months, I offer the following promis- es to her in the form of New Years' Resolutions for 2021. Winnie and I hope the following may also help you survive, thrive and extract as much human and canine kindness out of 2021 as possible. My First Resolution to Winifred: I Promise to Pay More Attention on our Walks! When Winnie takes me for an afternoon walkabout on Carmel Point, she deserves nothing less than my full attention. But lately I have gotten lazy. Distracted by the construction of a house, or some new landscaping, I don't notice when Winnie wanders a bit too far out into the street and a car, a sneaky quiet Tesla, slides by. Too close for comfort! I shudder, what if….? PAY ATTENTION, OMAN! Whose walk is it anyway? I used to be mesmerized by the metronome sashay of her tail, her twin periscope ears on high alert for murmurs of nature, nose twitching, eyes seeking surprises in the Cypress treetops. Staying focused on Winifred, the closer I feel to some part of me that is dog-like. Simple. Natural. Grounded. Can't think of a better way to march into the New Year. My Second Resolution to Winifred: I Promise More Playtime! Anyone doubt that in our dogs we have found our furry fountain of youth? I am amazed how easily the littlest thing she does makes me smile. Watching her play takes me back to a time when I felt young at heart. When I laughed a lot—at myself, and the human comedy around me. George Bernard Shaw said: "Youth is such a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children." You'll never waste it with your dog. Your pooch won't let you! Blood pressure on the rise? Forget your doc. See your dog! Take three playtimes a day and I defy anyone not to feel an infectious elixir of youth percolate into their mind, body and spirit. My Third Resolution to Winifred: I Promise to Listen More. Bark Less. And know when it's time to keep it to myself and get over it! For many of us, it's those last three words that are the toughest. Get over it! Once again, Winnie shows me the way. For should I have committed the vilest of offenses such as going for a ride in the car without her, the moment I return, she is over it. And all over me – her forgiveness swift and bru- tal. I open the car door and she catapults onto my lap, pawing my chest, wild tail lashing about my neck, my face the bull's eye for love bites and her tongue. I can't think of anyone more for- giving of us humans than our dogs. For that alone, we owe them everything. All is a reminder that if we are to "get over it" and embrace the brave new world of 2021, we would do well to remember : "To err is human. To forgive canine." A best-selling golf humorist in a previous life, Mark Oman is co- author with Winifred of "Life is Good. I'm a Dog…And You're Not!—Four-legged Lessons for a Day Well Lived." Mark and Winnie live in Carmel with their four-legged brother, Winston, and their two-legged wife, Barbara. Email Winifred (or Mark) at mark@markoman.com. DOG TALES M A R K O M A N w year without her Note: Yo Take three playtimes a day and I defy anyone not to feel an infectious elixir of youth percolate into their mind, body and spirit. My Dog Made Me a Better Human 50 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1

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