You make me smile, (or laugh). The sweet, funny, loving things my dogs do on a daily basis, that brings a smile to my face, or a laugh to my lips.

I’m pretty sure you all know this guy, right?

I’m also pretty sure I’ve mentioned before what a social butterfly he is. He loves people. He sees a person outside and he wants to be their friend. A car slows down on our walk, and he sees a new friend.

And people love him. It’s his gift to the world. It’s almost magic. Because once he catches their attention, they’re his friends. And he will greet them as enthusiastically today, as he did yesterday and he’ll do the same tomorrow.  And he expects the same in return.

In our neighborhood we have a man who delivers the paper in his car. This guy had a tendency to pluck on my last nerve, because he would come right up behind me on a walk, or whip around and pull in front of me. And if Sampson is the dog I’m walking, then Sampson slows down, turns around and tries to woo a new friend.

Many was the walk where I wished I’d had the ability to blow one of his tires out with my mind.

Then one day, while Sampson was visiting one of his friends, the paper guy pulled into her yard to deliver her paper. And she introduced Sampson.

The man was nice, he asked if he could pet him and I said yes, so he did. Then he got in his car and drove off.

Flash forward to a day last week. I’m walking Sampson past one of his friend’s houses, and I see the newspaper delivery guy heading up the street. As it happens, he pulls up to deliver the paper to Mrs. Whinnem, and Sampson (who LOVES Mrs. Whinnem) has already been walking really slowly, to see if she’s outside (she wasn’t). And here comes the paper guy, so I try to get Sampson to cross the street, but he sees his new friend, and so he resists.

The guy puts the paper in the box, puts the car in park, opens his door and says, “Hi Sampson,” with a big smile on his face. I attempt to apologize, and the guy says, “He just wants to say hello, it’s easier this way.”

He gives Sampson a nice little rub on his head, says goodbye to me, and gets in his car and drives away.

Sampson, when you can make friends with someone who irritates me, you make me smile!

You make me smile, or laugh. The sweet, funny, loving things my dogs do on a daily basis, that brings a smile to my face, or a laugh to my lips.

Sampson, when you instinctively know, that you shouldn’t pull on your walk…

You make me smile. You also make a six-year old little girl, very happy.

I love pictures of my grandchildren with my dogs, and some of my favorite ones are when I’m watching from their perspective.

You make me smile, (or laugh), the sweet, funny, loving things my dogs do on a daily basis, that brings a smile to my face, and a laugh to my lips.

Sampson, when we are walking in the woods, and I look at you and say, “If you want to go up the hill, it’s okay,” and then you turn and head up the hill…

You make me smile.

Lately, Sampson has been heading to the park on our walks. Most days, he heads to the field. It’s like he knows that the trails are a bit challenging to him. But I’ve got him on a new protocol and he seems to be able to handle a bit longer walk. While I know he will have days that he can’t manage it, for now, I’m going to celebrate the good days.