The more boys i meet...

Over the last week of emotional turmoil, I am again reminded of the blessing that is my dog. As I sulked around, feeling sorry for myself, she was there for me. Not in an overly happy, “Let’s go outside and play and get over it” kind of way; instead, she was appropriately subdued but ready with a friendly wag if I showed the slightest interest in a bit of fun. She was just cute enough when I was feeling sad and made perfectly timed gagging noises when anger filled our space.

In particularly difficult times, when even Gloria Gaynor couldn’t produce any hope, I would feel the gentle nudge of flat-faced Shih Tzu reminding me that everything would be just fine. There really is something about snuggling a pet that lowers your blood pressure and cheers you up.

Olive doesn’t just do this for me. When friends have come by to work through life’s troubles over cocktails, Olive generally occupies herself. But at the slightest of ocular dampness, she is at high alert. Her unusual ability to sense tears is truly amazing, like a shark sensing one drop of blood from 100 miles away.

Hopping off her velvet pillow at the exact right time, she has dried the tears of many with a gentle paw and uncanny ability to fit herself on any lap however closed off to the world the lap may be. She is always ready to do her only job… spreading smiles everywhere she goes and offering a bit of perspective that we humans often misplace, reminding us that the world isn’t really that bad. She’s in it, after all.

Thank goodness I never need to worry. I have my pack to protect and love me and make sure I get out of out bed every single day. One need never feel lonely when they have the love of a Shih Tzu.

The More Boys I Meet by Carrie Underwood