Dogs have it made

I'm no dog lover. I'm not into dependency and a dog seems to epitomize it. The dog in our house is beside himself when his owner is away. But I've got to admit, he has some things working for him.

He got boogered up running across a busy street the other day. No broken bones, just scratched up paws. Lucky. People were all worried asking, "Where did he go?" and "is he all right?" Trust me, when I make a traffic boo boo, the reaction is not the same. So we took Mr Lucky to the vet (the dog should have bought a lottery ticket along the way) and the tech was fawning all over him. "Did you hurt your widdle paw? Oh pooh pooh pooh." Now I've been jacked up and in the hospital numerous times, and never did I get anyone fawning over me. Nope.

I thought about the reaction people have, and something occurred to me as I observed how the dog conducts himself with others. Always smiling. Always reaching out. It's genuine. He's not looking to gain anything. If you pet him, he wags his tail. If not, he doesn't take it personally. Even if you're not nice to him, he'll give you a second chance. I think they call that grace, or forgiveness. If Rodney King's timeless question "Can't we all get along?" were put to the dog, I believe the dog would answer "We should try".

I think that dog's on to something.