Getting to share your life with a dog(s) is a special thing. They understand us and we understand them in ways that flow in one direction more than the other. We keep them from eating too much or getting hit by a car and they keep our souls from turning grey. 

Archie, the skinny one, is a non-verbal olympic athelete; he lives to run, and if it were up to him he would be sprinting up and down mountains before breakfast, and after breakfast, too. If we don’t go on a walk where he can sprint around and make fun of everyone for being so slow by 9am, he starts to cry. It’s clockwork. Then, after that walk, he takes a nap but if we aren’t up and at em’ again by noon? Waterworks. 

But today was different. Today I was sicker than I have been in a long time and he didn’t cry at all. All he did was nap, check on me, and nap on or next to me. He doesn’t speak a word of english, but somehow he knew, somehow he was empathetic and more caring than I have ever seen him. 

Dogs grow and learn and love and empathize and I like them better than most people.