do snuggle puppies suffer from winter depression?
It’s times like this when I’m really grateful to live on Maui.
You know what I’m talking about - the snow and extreme weather that’s happening all over. I’ve heard about LA highways turned into snowy parking lots, deer herds starving because the snow and ice is too thick for them to find food, and severe weather all over the mainland.
My friend Liane is having a hard time this winter with SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. She lives in DC, and is really feeling the blues from lack of sunlight. I think I used to get SAD, too, when I lived in DC. The dark and cold can really get you down. Even my buddy and pet vet extraordinaire, Dr. Andrew Jones, is having trouble with the winter gloomies. This morning he shared his litany of woes, and noted that pets deal with winter in a totally different way than we do:
I am constantly amazed how Dogs and Cats always are SOO POSITIVE. Lewis could care less if it is dismal and raining, minus 20 and cloudy or a Sunny Summer day. He is LIVING in the moment and appreciating all that life gives him.
I gotta learn how to live more like my dog.
P.S. If any of you have any words of wisdom, I would LOVE to hear them.
I don’t know how wise I am, but I know Maui is VERY wise and she has one piece of advice for Dr. Andrew Jones and everyone else who is SAD this winter:
Become a Snuggle Puppy. Snuggle Puppies don’t get SAD!
Maui insists on our meditation sessions on even the brightest of Hawaiian days, but when we lived in the dark and dreary DC, she was doubly insistent. As Dr. Jones points out, our pets live in the moment, and that can make all the difference. So if you are one of the many suffering from Deep Freeze Depression, snuggle up to your pup and have a nice little meditation. Ten minutes can make all the difference - and five is better than none at all. Make this a priority this winter. You’ll really see a difference. (And your dog will love you for it!)
Warmer Aloha than Usual,
James Jacobson
Creator, Do You Remember Love?
Author, How to Meditate with Your Dog
PS: You can get Dr. Andrew Jones’ excellent free book, Healing Your Pets at Home, at his website:
Download it now and snuggle up to learn how to slash your vet bills by doing some simple, at-home treatments. I love this book.
Maui Media, LLC
February 3rd, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Aloha from SUNNY England ………., no comments ! James article on “snuggle Puppies and depression is very interesting. I suffer from the “Winter Gloomies” known as SAD. I am of French Nationality from the South of France, but I live in England, which is a beautiful Country, but with lousy weather ! Coming from a sunny place like the South of France I really really suffer from the lack of sun/light in the winter months. I have invested in a SAD lamp,I use it daily for one hour, while I am at my desk on the computer, and I have 2 posters I look at while the lamp is on, one poster is from my home place “St-Aygulf” in the South of France, 30mns away from Cannes and St-Tropez, my 2nd poster is from Hawaii, especially the Island of Maui, my favourite Island in the world. I spent 2 weeks in Hawaii with my young son in 1987, we stayed at the Hilton Hawaiien Village in Wikiki, and visited all the Islands, I fell in love with Maui, it’s pure Paradise. I look at the posters, then I close my eyes and pretend I am lying on the beach soaking up the sun, I can even smell the flowers in the air, the sky is blue, the sea is very inviting and clear. Well, believe it or not, it works…….., I open my eyes, and the gloom and doom is no-more ! I do this everyday during the winter months, why not try to do the same if you suffer from SAD, what have you got to loose ?
The other way I deal with SAD is simply with the help of my beloved pets. I have 2 rescue dogs, Sasha the Mongrel who is 1oyrs old, and Pip the black Toy Poodle 15yrs old (going on 16yrs)I adopted last summer after his mistress had a stroke, she had to stay in hospital for 7months and was too ill to continue to care for him.
With noone to look after Pip, he ended up in Kennels for 7 months, which must have been very frightening for a blind 15yrs old tiny dog. They didn’t look after him very well ,and he was skin and bones when I came to foster him, and then adopt him. Pip has had a very hard life, his 1st owner used him as a stud ,and he spent most of his life in a cage, he was then rescued by his second owner who unfortunately suffered a stroke 6 months after adopting him, Pip then spent 7 months in kennels. “Pip” really deserves to be loved, and to feel safe and secure, we just adore him. he is an old cuttie, but a cuttie all the same ! He has settled down great with us, he loves his food and has put weight on, loves his cosy wicker bed, gets tons of TLC. Being blind doesn’t seem to bother him and he gets on fine with Sasha and the cats/kittens…………MAIS OUI………., I also have 4 cats and 2 kittens ! The house is so “Alive”, and my pets (all pets) are so positive, they really couldn’t care less if the weather is doom and gloom, and it rubs off on me, we have lots of cuddles and fun time, and even if I come home cold and windswept/wet, feeling pretty miserable, the welcome I get from my pets is so uplifting, I can’t help but smile and the “feel good” feeling returns, just like magic !
I have learnt so much from my pets, animals are so forgiving, even when they have been badly treated. They are loyal and friendly and loving, they always respond to TLC, and give so much more in return ! For Animals or Humans, LOVE is always the magic potion !
I can honestly say that my “Snuggle Pets” are my “Ray of Sunshine”, and I need them as much as they need me.
AU REVOIR,
Evelyne Hulme