Play with me

My dog makes me laugh for a lot of reasons. He's a unique little man. One way he makes me smile is the way he plays. He's a smart dog, so we've bought every kind of toy to help keep him engaged -- and not chewing up our entire house. Some times, he runs around with this toy in his mouth just for the joy of feeling the wind flap through his ears. He'll do this at full speed for about 10 minutes before collapsing in his water bowl. My favorite is when he comes up to me with one of his "biffs" (that's Henry-speak for "toy") with a longing look in his eye. Maybe I want to throw it? Maybe a little tug? Some times, he just wants me to hold it while he chews. I thought Henry was just making his game more interesting by making me want his toy.

As soon as I act like I want his toy, the game is on! Ears perked, tail wagging, Henry is ready. Maybe it's the human in me that imagined the game being like "keep away" or "I've got something you don't." A little good-natured competition. Today, as I held the rope end of his favorite biff, Henry chewing on the rubber end, I realized it was something much simpler.

Henry didn't want me to tease him or throw it or tug. He just wanted to share. He wanted me to play with him. It was that simple. Only a human could make it out to be something like keep away or assert that a thing is only worth possessing if someone else wants it, too.

If we're honest though, we want to share, too. We want to share our experiences, our time. Whether it's an exchange of pleasantries or a hug or a nice long talk or just the touch of a hand. Too often we're those petty, jealous humans. The ones that like to keep our toys to ourselves and not share, to disconnect and hide behind our techno walls.

Henry found a whole new way to make me smile today. He really is one smart dog. He taught this human to be more like a dog and look for simple ways to share. He showed me how simple it can be to connect to another living being. Share.

Would you like to play?