Unconditional love . . .

Unconditional love! That is what you get from a pooch! The kind of love that doesn't matter what mood you're in, what kind of day you had, how you feel, or what is going on. They just love ya!

A few days ago, during an exceptionally stressful day of returning clothes to the sales floor at Macy's, a woman entered the dressing room while I was clearing the room of hoardes of clothes the last person decided to leave laying all over. As I passed her, something wet brushed my arm and, for a moment, I was quite alarmed and worried that I might have to defend myself against a deviant. I was pleasantly relieved to find that as she entered the room, she layed her purse on the floor and a little dog hopped out. He had given me a kiss as he passed by. He came immediately to me and allowed me to scratch him, pet him, love on him and stood up to greet me with that little tail just a-wagging away. It hit me about two minutes later that this woman probably actually wanted to try on the clothes she went in there with and she actually asked me if I wanted to take the dog outside with me. I laughed and politely declined but told her that pet therapy is one of the best solutions to a bad day. My whole mood had changed.

This morning, as I sleepily plodded out of the bedroom, my dog Max met me at the bedroom door. I was only about ten feet from my husband and would really have loved to greet him with a morning kiss, but Max had other plans. He is an 85 pound, big black lab. Graying profusely with sore hips and crooked ears, there's not much to argue with. He parked himself across the doorway and would not let me pass til he had gotten sufficient scratching, petting, loving, and hugging. I obliged and he was thrilled.

I made it to hubby, said good morning and turned to head toward the kitchen, but apparently Max had not gotten quite enough. He did the circle thing, huffing and panting until I sat on the floor with him. He curled up in my lap, resting his giant head on my leg and allowed me to scratch his belly. I'm so happy I could make it a good morning for him. Because, you see, in creating a happy pooch there is a joy that oozes into your own heart and creates a happy person!

What a wonderful morning of unconditional love . . .