One of the places nearby is a dog park that is big enough for folks to safely social distance while letting their dogs play off leash. Since the pandemic and number of coronavirus cases still prevent me from getting my dog fix with the sugar faces at Muttville Senior Dog Rescue as a volunteer, I have started stopping by the dog area. I have changed my route when I am going to the store and have added it to my outdoor walks when I need extra steep hills. It is a little hit or miss on how many dogs will be there but I am not picky. I enjoy just watching the scenery and dog play, and if a dog decides they want to come over and say hello, who am I to be rude?

Thank goodness for dogs who are social butterflies

If there is a smart reader of this out there good at math, I bet you could tell me what the odds are that there is a social butterfly in a group of dogs. There always seems to be one. Sure, it usually is a puppy but sometimes it is just a dog who is just not that into other dogs. Often they like other dogs, but they get tired of them pretty quickly compared to others. On this day, I was lucky to meet one of those, in the form of a big Anatolian Shepherd - St. Bernard type name Riley.

Being a dog, and the type he was, Riley saw me, but first walked over to check out the other dogs coming through the gate. Then he moved down the line to say hello to me and get some love while his mom laughed and introduced him. After me, he continued over to an area that looked like a piece of tasty trash had traveled over the fence, just in case there was something to eat. That entire session gave me the happiest feeling of continuity and life, and how there is joy still around.

I am so grateful for the social butterfly because I am not. And, if that social butterfly flies over to me in the form of a dog, then all the better. Dogs have delivery methods for their type of affection and interest which never cease to make me laugh, smile or feel my heart lift up a little. They blow through resistance like the wind.