Sunday morning, early into my 3-mile run, a young chocolate lab with an orange florescent collar joined me. It came bounding out of a yard with its tail wagging so hard that I wondered how it could run straight. It promptly ran into one of my feet getting kicked in the jaw. That didn't bother it a bit and off we went down the road. "What are you so happy about?" I asked it. I was feeling good enough to appreciate the contrast between the dog's utter joy at life and my lugubrious mood of late. That dog wouldn't know dismal if it bit her. As we ran down the street dogs would bark ferocious warnings at her whereupon she would run over to the them, tail wagging to sniff noses. The first few times I thought I'd lost her but no such luck. I'd look back and see catching up as if I were walking. "You're too stupid to be unhappy" I told her as she ran in front of me, an act she would perform dozens of times. I kind of wished I could be that ignorant.

As we ran down the deserted streets of my neighborhood she alternated between an effortless trot and a happy lope. Tail wagging, tongue hanging out she ran through every puddle from last night's big rain. At one point I watched her streak thorough a ditch a hundred feet long and wondered if I had ever had as much fun as she appeared to be having. Frequently, she'd stop to drink from a puddle. At one point she took off after a squirrel but didn't appear invested in catching it. As soon as it went up the tree she turned off not even breaking stride. She also chased every mockingbird, not posing any threat to them and not neglecting any. She even helped me work on my character defect of always defending myself. When we saw people walking their dogs she would run up to them, and I always had an urge to say "not my dog," but I didn't. I decided that God had sent her to be to give me the message "Don't worry be happy" so I named her Worry. She followed me home and cheerfully invited herself in. She seemed shocked when I barred her entry. I considered giving her a dish of water but knew she didn't need it. I thought about the left over chili, but that might not be good for her. So I said adios, and I'm sure she is off making new friends and having fun. I'm trying to take heart from her message of enjoy the simple things and live in the moment.