Reader Laura H. shares a scandalous story: “This is a photo of Melody. I woke up early this morning, before anybody was up, and saw her lying like this on her bed next to our bed, sound asleep. So I snuck my phone off the bedside table and got a photo of her lying in this TRULY undignified position.
“Melody is an idiot, but she’s also a much-loved therapy dog who goes hospitals, nursing homes, and even schools.”
The teefels lol 🙂
I bet she’s having a good dream.
Yes she’s dreaming of belly rubs.
Again, beautiful smile.
She’s a knucklehead! And I have a major soft spot for knuckleheads. I bet Melody is the sweetest thing alive and I’m sure she brightens days wherever she goes.
Goofball dogs are the best dogs!
Anyone as beautiful and sleek as Melody cannot look anything but magnificent.
Stunning. Silly. Blissful.
Oh, Mike, that is THE perfect hovertext! I about fell off my chair when I saw it! 😀 😀 😀
Yes, Melody is widely adored. She’s the sweetest dog you’ll ever meet, and makes friends wherever she goes; she’s also calm enough to be walked by small children, which is hilarious to watch for a dog her size next to a 4-year-old little girl. And at the dog park, when she plays with the other dogs, she runs their speed — until she wants to get away, and then she just kicks it into high gear and leaves them standing there looking puzzled: “Where did she go?”
But it’s her ability to make people feel calm and peaceful that is so unique. We’ve tried to describe it, but about the closest I’ve come is that she just emanates waves of healing. I’ve honestly never met a dog like her. We feel very honored to be her devoted slaves.
It’s dignity. Being in her presence make all who know her feel special themselves. This makes them happy. Living sculpture. Art talks directly soul to soul.
Being a goof helps too.
May we please see a picture of Melody in a non-weird position? Therapy dogs are so very important and special.
I’ll send Mike one. Being coal black, she’s hard to photograph, but I did get a nice shot of her against our green lawn in the sunshine last year. Most photos of her get tossed as black blurs, unfortunately.
And thanks for asking and for your comment. She has a wonderful job and loves it. She was requested at the vet’s hospital to visit at least 2-3 times a week to help one patient from Afghanistan come out of a coma, for instance, and accompany him to physical therapy; and he did indeed wake up, and could pet her a bit, with help, and his family loved her totally, of course.
And she’s helped at least one WWII vet open up and talk about his experiences in the war with my husband while he was stroking her. Mr. B. had been a Marine in the Pacific and lived through three of the most dangerous landings in the war, including Iwo Jima. And, like nearly all WWII vets, he’d never talked about it. Needless to say, my husband felt honored that he was able to bring Melody to make him feel so peaceful that he could finally share his story.
Now I’m making myself cry again. She has that effect on people, even us!
That is so incredibly touching. I love that we’re coming to an understanding of animals as emotional beings with so much to give.
As I raise Millie, I again see very little difference between dogs and humans in basic emotional development and the need for comforting, confidence building, self esteem. Through Millie I am, again, amazed at the way dogs and humans communicate. She understands tone of voice, facial movements, gestures, individual words, inflection, human emotions, scheduling, possession of objects, and jokes.
Laura, your last line made ME cry; I survived American bombs and Nazi horrors through WWII, and still get emotional speaking or reading about it, so I understand your WWII vet. I don’t have a Melody in my life but I had a cat who I swear understood everything I said. The current feline helps also, in her bossy way. It’s wonderful that you , your husband and Melody take the time to bring some peace in the life of the vets.
?
Does she read fantasy books to the kids when she visits schools?
Iggie! I bet she has beautiful necklaces and collars. They deserve nothing less 🙂
She does have a special Christmas jingle bell collar, yes. 😀
Melody is truly a special dog; the fact that she is goofy just makes her even more lovable.
I see a volume of a Miss Manners work on the shelf. Would that polite lady disapprove? (I always have to see how many books I can identify in photos that show them, being a long-time library employee!)0
Melody has wonderful manners and dignity…when she’s awake. 🙂
I’m Laura’s daughter, so Melody is family, and she is all the nice things everybody’s saying and more. Not that I’m smitten or anything. She really is a remarkable creature. And she is gorgeous. Even her ears are streamlined! Greyhounds are wonderful dogs.
I was at the bookstore several years ago and there was a Greyhound rescue group doing gift wrapping for some upcoming minor holiday. They had three dogs with them. One of them came over to me and just stood and leaned into my legs so I could pet her. She was so sweet. I just wanted to sit down and hug her for a while.
I saw the group wrapping again last year around Christmas but unfortunately, apparently someone complained and they are no longer allowed to bring in the dogs. 🙁
Wha??? If nothing else, greyhounds are the least obtrusive dogs I’ve ever met. Unless somebody has a dog phobia, which I grant a good bit of leeway for, I see no reason why anybody should complain about greyhounds in a bookstore. They are very civilized.
I live in a very dog-friendly area, though, so dogs are welcome almost everywhere. The office supply store has a resident mastiff!
I don’t know what the actual complaint was. Maybe they were allergic? There’s also a cafe in the store, but they weren’t anywhere near the cafe, and when I worked there we didn’t mind dogs in the store as long as they didn’t go into the cafe.
The ones I saw were extremely well-behaved. One was walking around the store (on a leash) with one of the volunteers and the other was hanging by the table with the one I was petting.
Well, if I had a bookstore, animals would be welcome. Especially Melody, who is a good 2500 miles away from me. I keep asking for them to ship her out here but for some reason the response is “No!”
🙂 🙂 🙂
She’s a therapy dog! You need therapy! Right?
I need therapy…can she come to NJ?
Regalness and Goofiness are a magical combination in dogs! Humans? Not so much.
I have no idea why but her dark coloring with the lighter belly, made me think of Georgia O’keefe’s floral pieces.
Work of art.
My male Tibetan spaniel sleeps like that all the time. Even less dignified.