Animal Instinct

I was at the store today when a lady brought in her dog.  My legs were tired, so I rested and invited her to go first.  She sat her dog down at the side of the room, and I took the second chair away from the dog.  The dog looked like a lab/golden retriever mix - really beautiful and behaved.  It had the most piercing brown eyes.

The dog kept staring at me, and finally, it got up and placed his neck on my thigh.  I kept nudging his neck and patting him on the head. and scratching the back of his ear.

The lady saw the dog and apologized, but it was a-okay with me.  I found the dog's company comforting.  I told the lady that I thought her dog knew I was recovering from a medical illness.

She said that her sister raises therapy dogs, and although this dog isn't a therapy dog, he has gone into the hospital and visited patients and takes to people right away and has a gentle disposition.

This dog had never seen me before today, and I really felt the comapssion it had for me, a stranger recovering from spinal cord injury.

I don't have a pet, but this epce is a great example that animals can have a positive impact on one's recovery.

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