When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey - a
 journey that  will bring you more love and devotion than you have
 ever known, yet also test your strength and courage

 If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life,
 about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away
 changed forever, for one soul cannot touch another without leaving
 its mark.

 Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life's simple
 pleasures - jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of
 puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears.

 If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly
 experience every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go unexamined,
 no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be
 inhaled,  pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information. Your pace
 may be slower - except when heading home to the food dish - but you
 will become a better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the
 field.

 Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to
 complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details -
 the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old
 maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig. Once we walk as a
 dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the
 landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down,
 all around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature has created
 a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle
 of the seasons bring ever changing wonders, each day an essence
 all its own.

 Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world
 around you. You will find yourself watching summer insects collecting
 on a screen.  (How bizarre they are! How many kinds there are!), or
 noting the flick and flash of fireflies through the dark. You will stop
 to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after
 a rain. It does not matter that there is no objective in this; the point
 is in the doing, in not letting life's most important details slip by.

 You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends
 might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking
 for the cat food brand your feline must have, buying dog birthday
 treats, or driving around the block an extra time because your pet
 enjoys the ride.  You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewy toys,
 bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the
 house trailing your bathrobe tie - with a cat in hot pursuit - all in
 the name of love.

 Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark
 clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your
 pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old plastic
 shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the
 crinkly sound.

 You will learn the true measure of love - the steadfast, undying kind
 that says, "It doesn't matter where we are or what we do, or how life
 treats us as long as we are together." Respect this always. It is the
 most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will not find
 it often among the human race.

 And you will learn humility. The look in my dog's eyes often made me
 feel ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some
 flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but
 only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and
 dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and
 so chose to love me anyway.

 If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will
 be  not just a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to
 be - the one they were proud to call beloved friend.
 I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all
 paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets,
 one day your dear animal companion will follow a trail you cannot yet
 go down.  And you will have to find the strength and love to let them
 go.  A pet's time on earth is far too short - especially for those that love
 them. We borrow them, really, just for awhile, and during these brief
 years they are generous enough to give us all their love, every inch of
 their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing left.

 The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and frail
 and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy wakes up
 stiff and lame, the muzzle now gray. Deep down we somehow always
 knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts
 they would be broken.   But give them we must for it is all they ask in
 return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place
 we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead - young
 and whole once more. "Godspeed, good friend," we say, until our
j ourney comes full circle and our paths cross again.