Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day

I'm starting at a perfectly blue sky today and this song just snuck its way into my head. 'Home, home on the range' must be as old as time itself; I learned this song when I was in grade school and was taught to me by a friend. And it' such a simple and fun song to sing to!

Miranda had reminded me of how awesome pets can be, especially to those who feel down in the dumps. For some reason pets (cat and dogs most especially, I think) have a knack for empathy.

I haven't gone close to a cat or a dog recently. It's mostly due to hayfever which I developed here in New Zealand. I haven't had this before; I might as well blame it on age. But when I was a kid, we had loads of pets at home. At one time we had some fish, a dog, a couple of cats, a pair of ducks, and some chickens (the chicken's don't count as pets I guess). Then I had took care of white mice too! So I'm no stranger to having pets around.

One time at a friend's house, I suddenly had a longing to rub the ears of their pet dog. He took to it, and then this progressed into a belly rub. I did take my nasal spray that day so I had a bit of protection, and wanted to just have this few moments with the dog. But the dog get coming back for more ear rubs and I gladly obliged. Suffice to say it made me happy that afternoon to be with a dog so gentle and kind.