Man’s Best Friend

When I went outside to take out the trash out, I saw a woman, a stranger to me, walking two dogs. One of the dogs was a beagle, and the other was a mongrel. Some people say mutt, but I find that word offensive. If I were a dog of unknown heritage, mutt would offend me. So, I don’t use that word. I like mongrel. But whichever word you prefer, that dog was of no identifiable type or breed. It looked just like the dog in the image of this post.

As soon as that dog, the mongrel, got close to me, he acted as though he were happy to see me. He wagged his tail, looked at me with big wide eyes, made a light whimper, and his ears flopped downward. Like the woman walking him, I had never seen that dog before. But he seemed excited to see me. I’m not complaining, mind you. I’d rather have it that way than to have a dog growling and snarling at me.

I’m not surprised, though. I’ve been around other dogs who seemed to love on me the first time they saw me. I visited a friend in New Jersey with a dog, and the little fella cozied up to me like I was it’s best friend. Then later I visited a friend in Texas and again, the dog greeted me, making me feel welcome. I’ve encountered this quite a few other times. I mentioned this to a vet, and she told me that it’s common for dogs to sense if you’re innately happy and loving. Well, I’m all of that. She also told me dogs can sense if someone is a jerk, and will keep away from them, maybe even snapping at them to show their displeasure. But if you have a kind spirit, animals can tell, and will welcome you.

Maybe that’s why some people interact so well with wild animals, like those who play with tigers and lions and gators and bears. I have no desire to do that. I’ll just stick with domesticated animals.