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LESSONS WE LEARN FROM OUR DOGS
 Hi Everyone,
In my seminars I talk a lot about mentors. I share who my mentors are and what I’ve learned from them, and I always ask the audience about their mentors and what they’ve learned from them.
In one seminar a woman raised her hand and asked, “Does my mentor have to be a human being?” Confused by her question, I asked what she meant. “My dog is my mentor,” she replied. She explained that before she rescued him from a shelter, her dog had been abused for years, but now he shows no aftereffects and lives every day offering love and happiness. The woman added that her dog has been her mentor by demonstrating forgiveness and living each day to its fullest. A human being who had gone through such abuse might not have been able to move forward.
 For Christmas, I gave my 82-year-old father a new project that I’m sure will keep him busy, active, and happy: a 10-week-old miniature Chihuahua (Kilo’s son), named Lobo. Every day when I make my usual phone call to Mom and Dad, I now ask about Lobo and in particular his potty training. Dad replies, “Not so good,” but then tells me story after story about what Lobo did that day to make my parents laugh. I’ve informed my parents that next year for Christmas I’ll buy them new carpeting.
 Dogs truly are a gift in life for so many of us. They are our mentors for wonderful lessons about love, forgiveness, and being nice. At the end of this month’s newsletter, you’ll find many quotes from great philosophers and leaders who all seem to agree with me.
Someone once said that dogs have so many friends because they wag their tails instead of their tongues. I love that! My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dogs already think I am.
Thanks for helping me live my fantasy of spreading this BE NICE message and giving nice people a voice.
XOXO, Winn
A BE NICE Story
By Shari Polk, Admissions Leader
The Lab – A Paul Mitchell Partner School
Do you have a BE NICE story to share? Send it to editor@BeNiceOrElse.com. If it appears in the newsletter, you’ll receive a BE NICE T-shirt and CD!
My dad didn’t want me to get a dog, but he believed it would be good for me so we went to “just look” at the puppies. Sure enough, these adorable, fluffy, little eight-week-old puppies came out to play and the one that plopped at my mom’s feet and rolled over for a tummy rub was the one I took home. My dad was hooked immediately.
Four months later my father passed away. I was 21. I decided not to continue with college, while working part time at a publishing company. At that time of my life, I thought I would just dig myself a hole and hide from the world. But Roxy was there!
She needed to be trained, fed, walked, and loved, and I had to do all of that. I was responsible for this puppy and we were going to be together for a long time. I had to make it great. And it was! Roxy turned into the dog I always wanted: a lovable 90-pound Rottweiler who loved people, adored children, and played great with other dogs.
Roxy became the sunshine of my life and the sunshine of many lives. Everyone who met her loved her and each has a great story to share about her. Whether it’s how they taught her to swim, how she licked them to half to death, or how she had an accident in the house, everyone has a Roxy story. But I have the best story because she was mine and I was hers.
I got Roxy at a time in my life when I could have fallen. Roxy was there to catch me. In the end I realized she was a huge gift from my dad. And on November 18, 2006, Roxy was reunited with the man who helped bring us together. She will forever be my sunshine.
People Profile
  Actress Betty White is probably as well known for her love of animals as she is for her illustrious acting career. The 84-year-old Emmy winner is president emeritus of the Morris Animal Foundation and has been a trustee since 1971. She has served on the board of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association since 1974 and has been a zoo commissioner for eight years. White has also written several books, including Betty White’s Pet Love: How Pets Take Care of Us. She received the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Humane Award in the 1980s.
In recognition of her lifelong devotion to animals, the Los Angeles Zoo named Betty their “Ambassador to the Animals” in 2006. She joked that the honor would make her “tough to live with from now on.” She added, “I’m not sure what I’m going to do as ambassador except to love the animals, as I have all my life.”
Corporate Corner
Bringing Pets to the Workplace
To attract and keep good workers, some companies are offering an unusual fringe benefit: welcoming pets to the workplace. Kay Calzolari of Pet Sitters International, an association for professional pet sitters, says, “Happier employees result in enhanced job performance. Increased sales have been reported by store owners who take their dogs to work. Staff morale and worker productivity increases. And some people have reported increased camaraderie among employees.”
Some companies allow pets one day a week, while others limit visits to emergencies. Still others, such as the Greensboro, North Carolina-based Replacements, Ltd., welcome well-behaved dogs any time.
Replacements, Ltd. claims to have the world’s largest selection of old and new dinnerware, including china, crystal, glassware, and collectibles. Their 300,000-square-foot facilities (the size of five football fields) house an inventory of 11 million pieces, some over 100 years old. In such a fragile and delicate environment, the company’s owner and founder, Bob Page, has been bringing his two dachshunds to work every day for years, and he encourages his employees and customers to do the same.
Before inviting pets to your workplace, be sure to set some ground rules. The following list comes from the Brentwood Pet Clinic in Los Angeles, California:
Ground Rules for Pets at Work:
- Dogs must have at least basic obedience skills.
- Housebreaking and litter training are essential.
- No biting, barking, whining, or howling.
- Vaccinations must be current.
- Respect others. Consider the effect on coworkers or customers who might have allergies or be uncomfortable around dogs or other animals. The feelings of all staff members must be respected.
- Three strikes and you’re out: After three accidents, home goes your pet.
Do Something!
Top 10 Ways to Learn from Pets
- Adopt a pet. Shelters are filled with animals who will otherwise be put to sleep.
- Share your pet’s love. Visit Therapy Dogs International (www.tdi-dog.org) and learn how your pet can become a therapy dog.
- Volunteer at an animal shelter. This is a great way for high school students to learn community service hours while adding a bright spot to rescued animals’ lives.
- Shop for a cause. Visit www.givebackamerica.org and shop from your favorite merchants (including eBay, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, and more). Then choose the animal charity you want to support; a percentage of your purchase will go to them.
- If you live in the Gulf states, be an animal foster parent. The hurricanes left many shelters overpopulated and desperate for help. Contact your local shelter for more information.
- Recycle! Donate your used inkjet cartridges (no Epsons) and cell phones (digital only) to the PetSmart Charities recycling program. See store display for details.
- Donate clean used pet toys, especially soft ones, to your local animal shelter. Give a pet a pal!
- Donate clean used blankets and towels to your local shelter or vet.
- Educate yourself about pet care policies. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, lawmakers, aid groups, and government agencies are debating new policies for handling pets during disasters, such as proposals to allow evacuees to take their pets with them to shelters.
- Support organizations that care for animals. Here are a few of our favorites:
Humane Society of the United States
www.hsus.org
(800) Humane-1
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
www.aspca.org
(212) 876-7700 , x 4700
American Humane Association
www.americanhumane.org
Quotes of the Month
“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”
— Will Rogers
“There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.”
— Ben Williams
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”
— Andy Rooney
“We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It’s the best deal man has ever made.”
— M. Acklam
“Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate.”
— Sigmund Freud
“If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.”
— James Thurber
“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.”
— Mark Twain
“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.”
— Roger Caras
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