The clouds overhead were dark with the promise of rain. I knew we were in for it. A few sprinkles hit the grass and sidewalk of Library Park where I was standing. It was 6:20 pm. “Please,” I said to the clouds, “my class is from 6:30 to 7:30. At 7:31 you can open up all you want. Pour if you like. Just hold off until then, okay?” A large drop of water hit my face as thunder rumbled. I sighed in resignation. I’ve lived here for 15 years and knew what those dark clouds on an August evening most likely meant. We were going to get soaked. My students, bless them, started arriving. I had told them at the start of class two weeks previously that we would have class rain or shine. A few had umbrellas as I did. Most were dressed in short sleeved shirts and shorts. The rain became more persistent.
Nearby, the Great Pyrenees puppy shook his large, white, frame and water from his coat flew. The lady with the Chihuahua wrapped her tiny dog more tightly in the towel he was in, little black face peering defiantly from her arms. One by one they arrived. By 6:30, all were accounted for. All stood in the now pouring, record breaking deluge and waited for my word. Many had left their dogs in the car but were more than willing to get soaked while we waited for the rain to stop. It didn’t. I looked at my class. 10 people . Standing in the pouring rain. Many of them with dogs with serious behavioral problems. They were there to fix the problems.
If I had any question about the sincerity, dedication, and commitment of this particular class, it evaporated. They knew that they had problem dogs. They knew that they needed to fix the problems. Nothing was going to stop them. “Well,” I said, “we really can’t have class in this kind of weather. I’m sorry. We’ll tack another class to the end of this one and cancel tonight. How’s that sound?”
They all nodded. Slowly they made it back to their cars. Piling soaking wet dogs into Hondas, Fords, Toyotas and a Chevy or two, I hoped that they had towels on the upholstery.
These people were going to succeed. No doubt about it.
Success in overcoming obstacles, in this case, training dogs with serious aggression problems, frequently doesn’t have anything to do with the obstacles. It has to do with the person facing them. These people obviously loved their dogs. They were going to do whatever it took to keep their dogs a member of the family. They were going to do whatever it took to keep their dogs safe.
