Lessons on innocence

Betty is my first puppy. We've been living together for ten months now, and I am honestly startled by how much I love her.

The greatest novelty has been living in the presence of happy innocence. I lived with my beloved cat Emma for 13 years (until she died) and while Emma was deep, intuitive and at times comforting, I never saw her as innocent in the way I see Betty. My cousin Dana, who has lived with cats her whole life, says, 'That's right, they seem to be judging us.'

I don’t think about this as cats vs. dogs. It’s the individual animals. Betty makes me laugh out loud when I'm tense, she helps me get over myself when I’m too deep in my own head, and she ever reminds me of the joy of being directly in touch with body and emotion. Anyone who's ever seen a small dog find a great big stick to carry home knows what I'm talking about.

I realize in writing this that her innocence has evoked mine, and made me literally enjoy my self more. I’m encouraged to be as gentle with my own mistakes as I am with hers – redirecting, corrective, but never punitive.

What have you learned from the animals in your life? What has their neighboring or intimate presence brought?

p.s. I also live with an old dog named Daisy. I'll tell you about that 'love child' another time, soon. By the way, they're both Clumber Spaniels.