Thankful

I am thankful for so much. I am, of course, thankful for my hilariously loving family and friends with whom I have been on the phone and internet for pretty much two days straight. I am thankful for my city, my job, my home, my health, my cats, my brand new speakers and so much more that can't be listed here.

Today, though, as I rode the subway it came to me that what I want to talk about being thankful for is my dog. She's the first dog I've ever had. Mistakes have been made but not too many. She was a good dog when she came to me and she's an even better dog now. Some of that must be due to me, right? I mean, law of averages says I've got to get credit for a couple of the good things.

In my neighborhood there are a lot of people who are afraid of dogs so I'm used to people giving me the stink eye while we walk. The other day we were waiting at a light to cross the street and a boy of about 12 years came up to stand next to us. He left plenty of space between himself and the dog but he kept a careful eye on her. When the light changed I said, "Come on," stepped off the curb and Emily followed. The boy was also crossing and he lengthened his stride to keep up with us and asked incredulously, "She listens?"

Yeah, mostly she listens. With ears that big how could she not?

She listens, she watches, she eats. I made myself one plate of all the Thanksgiving deliciousness. A small plate. When I was done I left a piece of crust and a couple of pieces of turkey and some gravy on the plate and set it down for her. Didn't even have to get out of my seat since she was standing directly in front of me staring holes in my hands as I forked up the harvesty goodness.

I thought for a second, "You're sharing Thanksgiving dinner with your dog. You have extended the crazy cat lady image to an alarming place." Then I realized I'm not exactly sorry to be sharing my holiday dinner with the girl. She deserves the best. She's really good company.

A lot of people get dogs for security and I am, I guess, no different. My dog, however? Extremely different. She's not the kind of dog who's going to drag me out of a burning building. She's the type of dog who's going to see me passed out on the floor and stay right there with me, pressed up against my side, because even when I'm going somewhere bad she'd just rather be with me.

I didn't know it when Pony Express brought her home but that was something I really needed in my life, something I craved. Now I have it and for that I am truly grateful.