I was standing in my kitchen this morning, daydreaming and looking out the window when I noticed my Labrador, Lincoln, looking up at me hopefully wagging her tail. When I looked down at her, she wagged it harder. It hit me then. Dogs are the eternal optimists. Even though I had offered her no indication of any kind that reinforcement was forthcoming, she knew it could be possible.

We are so lucky to have these sweet creatures in our lives. They ask for so little and they give so much in return. And even when they are mistreated by us, they wag their tails and give us another chance to come through for them, even though we don’t deserve it. No matter how badly things might be going for them, from a dogs perspective, opportunity for reinforcement is just around the corner. You gotta love that kind of optimism. I know I do.

So this morning, in my kitchen, I leaned over and gave Lincoln a big smooch on the head and scratched her butt. And although it wasn’t exactly what she had wanted (she had visions of peanut butter toast dancing in her head) she wagged her tail harder still knowing that better things were just around the corner.