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Leadership: Cause for Reflection,
Paws for Achievement

By David Shehorn, CC

I have learned many lessons from many people over the years,
but the one series of lessons I learned the most from was not
from a people. She was a cat, a large cat, a cougar. Many of
these lessons are values and principles of Toastmasters and
it is not hard to summarize these lessons.

In college, I joined a group that cared for the school mascot – a live cougar – named
“Shasta”. Initially the Cougar Guard was run by people who seemed to fear the
cougar, tried to outwit her and subdue her through force or fear. Often she would,
of course, be defensive, and attack, biting hands and arms. It was an all guy thing,
then – quite macho. She was taken out of her air-conditioned cage daily and moved
to an outside exercise area, where she could roam somewhat freely but still on a
chain, restricted to moving around a tree. SERVICE, RESPONSIBILITY

My mentor was a Psychology graduate student, who taught me patience, trust and
persistence. His technique was sitting with Shasta in her cage, talking softly to
her and waiting for her to come to him. When she ventured forth, she would be
rewarded with praise, cat snacks and a clicker toy sound. I observed his techniques,
avidly. LEARNING, MENTORING, FEEDBACK

Under my mentor’s tutelage, I progressed rapidly, learning to be friendly with Shasta
and eventually, to be friends. The techniques he applied had worked well for me. After

about a year, I was elected to be the Captain of the Cougar
Guard. I put my training into immediate use, and removed
Shasta’s heavy leather collar, rubbed her neck, brushed
her (long strokes) and sat in her glass cage overnight with

her. Eventually, she walked over to me and I could
easily attach her collar and security chain. We
went on many late night campus walks
-- just the two of us. I implemented
this technique as a standard
practice, FRIENDSHIP,
TRUST

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