My dog and I stopped walking around the block when it got hot this summer; I was afraid walking on the street in the heat of the day would burn Kurtie’s foot pads. We could walk early in the morning before the sun had baked the asphalt, but mornings are a busy time for me, so mostly we didn’t. We could walk in the evening, but we encountered several big, aggressive dogs being walked when we did; I did not think their owners kept adequate control, so we stopped walking in the evening.
During the colder months, we walked twice per day, even in light rains because Kurtie loves to go for walks. In fact, Kurtie likes to leave the house. Whether we go out the front door to walk or into the garage to begin a car ride, Kurtie likes to go. One place that we go regularly is to the farm to visit his friend Beryl. Kurtie knows we are going to the farm when we turn left at the traffic light and he gets very excited when we do.
It was overcast today and not hot at all. I did not want to go for a walk, but when I thought about long it has been since we could go for a walk in the early afternoon, I felt I owed it to Kurtie to go. He figured out what was happening when I put on a pair of shorts with pockets to hold my phone and keys. He got so happy and stayed so happy as we walked downstairs to get his leash that he made me happy, the happiest I’ve been all day.
Today has been a good day. The morning routine went smoothly. JoAnne kissed me sweetly before leaving for work. My work went well. Exercise went well. The biggest problem I faced was that the squeeze bottle of mustard I was using ran out before I got as much as I wanted on my post-workout sardines. But the happiest moment of my day had nothing to do with any of these things or with the time I spent praying, reading Scripture, or singing a hymn. The happiest moment of my day was seeing how happy it made my dog to know we were going for a walk!
I like to make people happy. I’ve done one or two things in my life that have made people really happy, but that’s not the point. Never in my life have I been half as good as Kurtie at letting others know when they are making me happy. Kurtie is clear, direct, and energetic about saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am so happy! This is wonderful. I am so glad to be a part of this…”
My dog is a great teacher. The question is whether I am going to be a successful student or not.
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