This little guy just got out of the hospital. The first thing his weak little body did is pull his favorite toy close and pass out by the fireplace. His certainty for what is important and cherished is the reason I feared his absence on this planet. It’s so easy to love that little being. It’s so easy to accept his unfailing love for me every single time I walk through the door (even if his bark could make your ears bleed). It’s the opposite of complicated. I feed him, I walk him, I scratch behind his ears once in awhile and he adores me. We have a practiced routine every morning where I do yoga and he crawls into every space he can – usually licking my face until I fall out of pose. He sleeps in my room every night (yep, on my bed…I’m that guy). He crawls onto my lap when I’m sad and catches every tear that rolls down my face like some weird game of Plinko. (If you aren’t old enough to recognize that…Google the old Price is Right) He just generally gets me. I understand this is no small feat for someone who is synonymous with complicated and yet yearns for his exact ability to make me feel anything but. Isn’t that what we all want? The opposite of complicated? How ironic that we need to learn the value of that from animals – who we consider less sophisticated than ourselves, who we would class as inferior. I know that I can’t keep this little furball of wisdom and compassion forever, but I am grateful to the powers that be that let me keep him for a little longer, while I learn the value of simplicity and loyalty. Just don’t get me started on the vet bill…though it made me unendingly grateful for universal health care in Canada. Excuse me while I go coddle the hell out of my dog – they made me go to work today without him. : )