Have you ever thought about the uniqueness of each person? And how you are different from your siblings or friends? Dogs are unique, too. Each has its own appearance and personality. Along with strengths and weaknesses.

Buffy and I are both service dogs for our mom. Well, Buffy was and is now retired. But she is trained to do many of the same tasks as me. Ones that give independence to our mom.

Even though we were both trained to do many of the same tasks we each do them in our own way. And add our own flair to the task. Especially me!

An example of this is closing the refrigerator door. Buffy always put her front paws up on my mom’s foot pedals so she could reach the door. She tells you about learning to do this in her post A new refrigerator and learning new ways! 

Closing doors my way!

At first, she was trying to teach me to do this task in the same way as Buffy But to me, that seemed like extra work for my mom to maneuver her chair just right so I could step on her foot pedals. So instead, I found my own way that is easier. I just put my front paws on the drawer handle and push the doors with my nose to close them!

Buffy was indifferent to the environment. Meaning she didn’t really pay attention to what was going on. And her focus was completely on our mom. But at this point, I’m much more aware of the things around me. Not necessarily in a bad way. Just different. 

She says that maybe it is because I’m younger and still maturing. And that as our relationship develops and we begin to dance as one my focus will shift more from the environment to her. I have to keep reminding my mom that it takes time!

Especially since she can’t remember back nearly eight years ago to how Buffy was as she adjusted to her new role as our mom’s service dog. I would say that my guess would be that Buffy was much the same as me back then!

Another difference is our body sensitivity. Buffy was always aware of what was nearby and hesitated to go into tight spaces. I, on the other hand, just push right on in. And do the task without hesitation. Sometimes I even make my mom smile with my tenacity!

Do you know what tenacity means? It is being determined or persistent. When my mom asks me to do something I’ll push right through and do the task. Even if there is something in my way! Or I have to work extra hard to complete the task. Like getting something she dropped that is in an awkward place for me to reach. I never give up!

And you know what? There are even some similarities between us. We both love to work and learn new things. I’m even starting to learn some foundation skills so I can do competitions just like Buffy did. And we both think our mom is extra special. And we love her! 

Buffy and I both love the snow!

In addition to the above examples of the differences between us, there are the obvious appearance differences. I’m sure you can guess this!

The one that you see at first glance is that I am yellow and Buffy is black. We are about the same height. But our bodies are built differently. I am stockier while Buffy has a more slender body and longer legs. And she has dainty little feet and mine are bigger!

Just like people we each have our own personalities and appearances that make us special and unique. My mom says it is important to embrace these differences. And have confidence in who we are. Because we all have many gifts to share with others!