Not-So-Dumb Animals: 10 Things Our Pets Teach Us About Positive Attitudes

If your household includes pets, you're blessed with special comfort during stay-at-home periods. Chances are, your dog or cat also considers it a blessing having you around all the time.

As you snuggle or romp with your pets, take the opportunity to increase your optimism supply by absorbing your furry friends' attitudes. Animals show considerably less tendency than humans to sit around fretting, because they instinctively know:

1. Our real needs are few. With loving companionship, room to exercise, adequate food and water, and a comfortable place to sleep, you have all you need for blissful contentment.
2. Life is meant to be lived in the moment. No animal, having survived the discomfort of a vet visit, wastes time worrying about what the blood sample will show or when the next checkup will be.
3. Always give loved ones the benefit of the doubt. You can drag your cat to the vet, force a pill down her throat, shorten her claws with nasty-looking clippers--when it's over, she'll still climb back onto your lap with no hard feelings.
4. Unhappiness is soothed with loving companionship, not free advice. One reason dogs are popular is that they don't lecture, criticize, nag, or otherwise tell you your problems are your own fault.
5. It's never the wrong time for a peaceful nap.
6. One of the great joys of life is dashing about without embarrassment.
7. Fresh water is still the best thirst-quencher. It also keeps your mood stable and your senses sharp.
8. Your looks and skills are just right for you. No Persian cat feels cheated because she's not as slim as a Siamese; no Great Dane sulks over not being small and cute like a beagle.
9. Most screen time is a waste of time. Turn off the television, log off the computer, and give the real world the attention it deserves. (Have you walked your dog today--or lain with your cat in that sunny spot on the floor?)
10. When you need something, ask for it. Pets don't lie around feeling sorry for themselves because their people don't automatically know when a good petting or a walk is needed; nor are they embarrassed because they can't do everything for themselves. They get right to the point with a clear "meow" or by trotting in with leash in mouth. And they aren't loved a bit less for it.

#PeaceAndBlessings on every member of your household--those who walk on two legs and those who walk on four.