Lessons We Can Learn from a Dog by Sandra Lee Hugus, beginning in 1998 Last winter, while I was home sick, I discovered that I was a dog. Not a cute little Cocker Spaniel like this fellow, but a big overgrown Irish Setter whose ears flop wildly while running, a happy-go-lucky, lur-de-dur dog, overly sensitive to scolding, friendly to all comers, unable to understand those who deliberately hurt humans or animals. I fell in love with the print-only version of this piece and passed it around both in hard copy and via e-mail. I'm not sick any more, but I still believe I am a dog, and proud to be one.

If You Can...

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can get going without pep pills,

If you can always be cheerful and ignore aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can overlook it when those you love take it out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him,

If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,

If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

If you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion or politics,

Then, my friend, you are almost as good as your dog!

--Annonymous e-mail. If anyone knows who originated it, I will gladly seek permission to use it, and willingly credit it here, with a link to their site if they so desire. If not, please accept my annonymous thanks for your wit and writing skills.

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