A dog doesn’t want much as far as we know.  Dinner.  Pets.  Lounging on human furniture.  At first glance, it seems that for a mute with no opposable thumbs and no command of any human language, the dog is pretty good at getting what it wants from us.  If I couldn’t talk or understand english and if you cut off my thumbs, I’d have a pretty hard time getting food, affection, and a comfy seat.

But then what if dogs actually want way more than those things.  What if Poppy also wants to be understood?  Or to have a dog companion?  What if she wants to see Europe or go on a mission trip to Africa?  She has no way of communicating any of that.  So what I see as happiness an contentment may be simple resignation to a life of never experiencing live music or bowling.

When i started this post I was admiring how skilled the dog is at getting what she wants given her physical limitations.  By the time I got to this point I realized I might have it backwards.  Damn dog will never achieve her dreams.  Unless… Unless… maybe we should take her skydiving…