My Very Great Interview With Diane

I have been interviewed by Scout's guardian, Diane. She is a real cool human who likes dogs quite a lot and she has asked me the following insightful and probing questions:

1. How did you choose Lindy to be your guardian?

Well what may surprise you is that I did not choose Lindy, she chose me. Oh, I wanted to be chosen, that's for sure. I could see that Lindy was a good guardian by the way she treated all the other dogs. She said something special to all the dogs at the shelter, even the ugly ones. It made me want to be her dog and to be protected and loved by her. So, I was hoping she'd choose me. Heck, practically all us dogs were wanting to be chosen by Lindy. I tried to be my very cutest and everything when she was at my pen and I am very lucky that she did choose me. But, ultimately it was her who chose me, and her who made me want to be chosen. That's how it is with a good guardian.

2. What is your favorite season of the year and why?

My favorite time of year is called play time. It's where you get to go swimming and tree climbing and running as far as you want. You can even bark real loud. That's my favorite time of year. Oh yeah, and you can jump.

3. What is your worst fault?

My worst fault is just being so much more talented and beautiful than the other dogs. It probably makes them feel bad. Lindy told me that this fault is sometimes called vanity but I don't really know what that means.

4. What has been your proudest moment so far in your life?

Well, I have done a lot of pretty amazing things:

• Swimming all the way across the lake,
• Climbing a tall tree,
• Catching a bird,
• Being the first dog in the history of the world to be interviewed
• and, of course, taking care of Lindy by catching flies and keeping other animals off the porch.

But, the proudest moment of my whole life was the day Lindy came back to the shelter to get me. I saw her come in and she had a real pretty collar and matching leash with her so I figured some lucky dog was going to get to go home with her. I was hoping, oh hoping, that it might be me. But, I've got to tell you, I saw a lot of dogs come and go at the shelter so I didn't want to get my hopes up too much, only to have them dashed against the cruel reality of being alone again. Humans might not realize this but the animal shelter can be kind of lonely for dogs. Anyway, I tried to put it out of my mind and I was just walking around the office area, which is where I got to stay a lot on account of everybody liking me so much, when I got called over to this one cubicle and there was Lindy signing some papers and then -- this is the happiest moment of my whole dog life -- she put that pretty collar on ME! And I thought what's this?! Me? Me? Is it really for me?! I was so excited that I accidentally peed a little bit. But, instead of being mad, Lindy totally understood and she said I was a good dog. I knew then that I had finally found my forever home.

I'll never forget the way I felt as Lindy placed that pretty collar -- my very own collar -- on me. That is the proudest moment of my life. The moment I knew I was chosen.

5. What is one thing that dogs wish that human knew about The Guardian?

Well, humans are pretty high on the scale of created beings. They are just a little further down than the angels and they were specially chosen by The Guardian to help take care of all the plants and animals in the world and everything. So, they are naturally curious about The Guardian and drawn to Him. Despite this, they do not really understand the nature of The Guardian.

I wish humans could understand that The Guardian is as different from them as dogs are from humans.

This will be hard for you to believe but some humans think that The Guardian is a human like them. One real famous human named Carl realized that and he wrote some things about it but I guess not all the other humans read it. I think that Carl is a funny name.

The belief that The Guardian is a human does provide one big advantage to humans. See, humans have trouble loving what is different. That's why they want to be like The Guardian and they want The Guardian to be like them too. In the human-think world, that similarity is what enables them to love and be loved.

Most dogs can't believe that humans believe stuff like this.

But, there are disadvantages to this belief too. Since they believe that the Guardian is human like them, some humans start to think that The Guardian has the same kinds of problems that they do.

• When they find it hard to forgive, they also have problems with knowing that they are forgiven.
• When they run out of money, treats, or love, they start to believe that The Guardian runs out of those things too.
• When they are too tired to wag their tails, they start to think that The Guardian is gets tired and is limited too.

That sort of thinking is what leads them to believe that The Guardian is uninterested in them. But, the truth is that they are so obsessed with their own egos, treats, and limitations that they aren't interested in The Guardian.

But the main disadvantage of this belief is a lot worse. It keeps humans from learning about who The Guardian really is. The Guardian, of course is not a human. The Guardian is not even a dog, though that's a much closer approximation. The Guardian is tons better than either dogs or humans. Tons.

What I most wish humans could understand about The Guardian is that The Guardian is everywhere and in everything. Humans waste too much time being worried if they are close to The Guardian, if they are sinning, or if someone else is. They try to do things to make The Guardian love them more, either by praying or serving or pointing out the flaws of others. All that is equally silly.

Humans should just relax and say Thank you Guardian for being in the wind, and in the sea. Thank you Guardian for being in my prayers and in my study. Thank you Guardian for being in my food and wine, in my friend's laugh, and my dog's tail wag. Thank you Guarduan that despite my human-think I can never be seperated from you. Thank you Guardian that I need not fear for you are with me all the time, no matter where I am. Thank you Guardian that I can forgive and love and believe the best because of you not being a human or a dog but a Guardian, and for taking care of me. Thank you Guardian. Thank you.

That's what I wish humans knew.

Now, I have to post these 'rules':

1. If you are interested in being interviewed, leave me a comment saying, 'interview me.'
2. I will resond by posting five questions for you. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post containing your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

And, also, let me say thank you to Diane for being a swell human being and for being my friend.

Love,

Rowan