I was in the supermarket parking lot and saw one of the employees come out and begin gathering the shopping carts. She was clearly depressed, stooped, bundled up against winter cold, walking with no energy. She looked like it would take a miracle for her not to turn in her resignation in the next five minutes.
She saw a wayward cart over at the far edge of the parking lot and began trudging her way over toward it.
There was a man with a German Shepherd on a very long leash. The dog saw the woman and pulled toward her. The woman saw the dog and veered toward it. The dog and woman met and touched, then hugged, then romped. It took about 60 seconds for the complete transformation.
The woman became joyous and light on her feet. She smiled and gestured, hugged the dog some more. She did a pirouette in her snow boots. She attempted to move away to get the cart, then turned back and went back to the shepherd for another dog fix of love and happiness.
Eventually, she succeeded in separating herself from the dog. As she came a good distance from the dog, she came near me. I couldn't help noticing that the sad woman was now happy. Instead of frowning, she was grinning to herself. She turned for a moment and glanced back at the dog. When she turned back to the cart she was smiling even more.
It was a profound example of what dogs do for people. A strange dog transformed this woman's life. Maybe for five minutes, maybe for five hours, maybe for five days.
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