The Right Way to Say Hello

No one greets you like a dog. Dogs do "hello" right. No matter how smelly or ill-tempered or depressed or ugly you are, when you walk in the door, a dog suddenly realizes that all creation was engineered to create you and you alone. With unrestrained delight the dog gallops across the floor barking "hallelujah!" the whole way. His tail, which I understand is powered by microscopic nuclear explosions, gyrates wildly as the absence of clear English makes it difficult for him to otherwise convey the words, "My reason for being is you!"

If your dog is like my dog, within nanoseconds of greeting you, he then remembers he is hungry. In his infinite kindness, he escorts you to the food cannister. He knows that your mind is foggy and not fully tuned in to the needs of the day, so with careful placement of his body, he nudges you closer and closer to the Gravy Train that you may not find on your own, and certainly not with the necessary speed. If you get sidetracked and Heaven Forbid, must use the bathroom before attending to the dog's breakfast, he does not berate you. Instead, he waits patiently at the door, occasionally ripping irreparable deep grooves in it, and as soon as you emerge, he behaves as though he had not just reminded the world that the most incredible human being on earth has just appeared and his exultant greeting begins all over again.

I have often watched our dogs greet my husband Arvo when he returns from work. First, I don't know how they do it, but ten minutes before his car pulls into the driveway, they start barking and running from the bedroom to the front door. Lucky runs to find his bone, which he then picks up and carries around for the next many minutes til Arvo arrives. It is his offering. When the car rolls in, the dogs become more frantic. Their tails are wagging so fast that they momentarily lift off the ground and hover like a helicopter. When the door opens, it is a bedlam of rapture. The dogs swirl like frenzied sharks around Arvo's legs. Lucky drops his bone at Arvo's feet. They paw at him, and bark, and jump to lick his face. Oh happy day, the pack is complete again!

I know I should be there with them, drooling with delight, welcoming my tired husband home from his long day in a similar manner. The dogs put me to shame. I am woefully inadequate and am humbled by a dog. Instead of showering him with exuberant joy at his presence, I often have a litany of all the things that went wrong, that need fixing, that need doing, that need attending......
It is never all about the dog, in the dog's eyes. It is all about the Master.
My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I, whom you have redeemed. Psalm 71: 23

PS- Honeybun has over 200 votes! It is hard to determine if she is still in first place, but there was a dog close on her heels. Please please vote!!! Find specific instructions in the post 2 days ago about the Petco contest. Thank you!