The Parable of the Dog Named Gigi

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Once upon a time, there was a cute little dog named Gigi. She loved meeting up with friendly dogs and playing fetch-the-ball with them. One of her favorite companions was a big German Shepherd named Cocoa.

One day, Cocoa brought a shiny new squishy ball to the dog park. Cocoa was very good at pushing the ball around with her nose and running all around the park this way. Gigi decided to join in with Cocoa’s game. Since the German Shepherd was having so much fun and was so friendly, wagging her tail whenever she looked at Gigi, Gigi figured that Cocoa would appreciate Gigi’s involvement.

So Gigi ran in front of Cocoa to catch the ball. Then she ran ahead and placed the ball on the ground, eagerly waiting for Cocoa to run over and push the ball with her nose again.

But to Gigi’s surprise, Cocoa just stood there and growled.

“What have I done wrong?” Gigi wondered.

“You took my ball,” the German Shepherd growled.

Nearby, a great big Rottweiler was watching everything. The Rottweiler trotted over to Gigi and woofed, “You took Cocoa’s ball. I’m going to bite you so you will learn to never do that again.”

“But I don’t have Cocoa’s ball,” Gigi whimpered. “I thought I was just contributing to Cocoa’s game. And see, there is the ball on the ground waiting for Cocoa to push it around with her nose.”

The German Shepherd snarled, “You stole my ball.” The Rottweiler woofed in agreement.

Gigi looked at them both. They could tear her apart if they had a mind to. “Believe me, that was not my intention. I thought you would like to have me join your game. It’s still your game. It’s still your ball. I wasn’t trying to steal anything.” She looked at their eyes and saw no softening, no understanding. So she said, “I apologize for doing the wrong thing.” And she sadly walked away.

The German Shepherd looked at the Rottweiler and said, “Well, that’s good enough for me.”

On the other side of the dog park, Gigi laid down in the sunshine. She thought about what had just happened. “I will never be able to trust them with the truths in my heart. It will never be fun to play with them because they might misinterpret how I play.”

Gigi looked around at the dogs who were nearby and she spotted an old friend, a Shitzu named Mona. “I’m safe with her,” Gigi said. So she trotted over to Mona, tapped her on the shoulder to invite her to play, and began a fun round of wrestling.

The moral of the story is: When you think someone has done you wrong, listen well to their heart. You might discover a truth that deepens your friendship.

Arf arf!