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Sometimes the Solution Becomes the Problem (Vol. 4, No. 4) You know about my dog, Tipi. Mostly beagle, 14 years old, some odd bowel habits, completely deaf. Her world of silence was almost confirmed by one of her favorite people, Dr. Jim, D.V.M. “She doesn’t hear well,” he explained as he scratched behind her right foreleg. When we asked how deaf she was, he continued, “Don’t know. It’s hard to get dogs to use the traditional hearing test signals that humans use – you know, holding up one or two fingers when they hear the tone. And they don’t usually take to wearing the headphones for very long, either.” We were persistent, however, and Dr. Jim offered us an at-home test. “Sometime, when she’s napping out in the back yard, sneak up behind her, get down real close to her head, and holler real loud. If she wakes up, she’s probably not completely deaf.” After a number of tries, I’m pretty sure she’s completely deaf. My neighbor, George, on the other hand, has rather acute hearing. Particularly when he’s sitting out in his workshop in his backyard trying to listen to his record collection. All in all, these diagnostic tests of Tipi’s hearing opened up a number of opportunities for communication across the fence. We were still plagued with what to about Tipi’s deafness. The hearing aids kept falling out. And she eats most “out of place” things she finds in the back yard. Recycling those was possible – but I mentioned the odd bowel habits, didn’t I? After much thought, we acquired Snoopy, a “hearing-ear” dog to be Tipi’s companion. Snoopy was my father-in-law’s farm dog. Twenty-some odd pounds of fur and a sweet disposition. And great ears. Thus, the beginning of a productive partnership. Tipi doesn’t hear. Snoopy doesn’t bark. When Snoopy hears something, she goes on alert. Tipi barks. Now, since Tipi doesn’t know what she’s barking at, she doesn’t know when to quit barking. Snoopy seems to think that’s funny. Did I mention that my neighbor, George, has rather acute hearing? Snoopy seems to think that’s funny, too. Gerald Nadler and Shozo Hibino in their 1994 book, Breakthrough Thinking, set forth seven principles for creative problem-solving. I can only remember one of them, “The Solution-After-Next Principle.” In a nutshell, you should figure out how you’re going to handle the problem that will arise tomorrow from the solution you instituted today. Sounds good on paper. But if I accept that premise, then I’d have to admit that my answers for life’s questions are rarely enduring ones. And I would have to commit myself to constant monitoring of everything that goes on around me . . . and adjust. And there might be sometimes that I have to ask for forgiveness for solutions gone bad. And, if I expect forgiveness, I would have to buy-in to the idea that I must give forgiveness. Life would be easier if dogs didn’t go deaf – and if neighbors didn’t hear so well.
Shine On!
copyright 2004 Joe L. Cope
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