Dog Lovers Unite

I am pretty sure that the happiest thing that happened in my life in 2010 was my dog.  Maybe that sounds bad to some, but, for anyone that has ever really fallen in love with a pet, you know what I mean.  It does not matter if you just rode the train to Berkeley and back to go to a job that you dislike.  It does not matter if you spent 10 hours at school and still have four hours of homework to do before waking up at the crack of dawn and doing it all again.  As soon as you come home to a sweet dog friend that is happy to see you, all of the frustration from the day melts away, at least for a little bit.  I do not know how many times I've come home from a hard day and curled up with my dog and felt instantly better.

I actually watched this cool Nova program that likened petting a dog to the same levels of oxytocin released by breast-feeding mothers, (I know, a strange comparison).  Apparently, the dog also releases elevated levels of oxytocin.  I guess that helps to explain the bonding that occurs!  Alex and I both admit to having a freakishly strong love for our dog.  Not that you didn't already know that.

At any rate, I just wanted to share one of my unexpected keys to great happiness in life.  Simon always knows how to make me smile.  Sure, I have plenty of pictures taken of him with my actual camera, but this recent pose is one of my favorites.  I call it pillow love.

If you're interested in watching the Nova program, you can stream it on Netflix, (it's really cool!):

http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Dogs-Decoded-Nova/70148726