Since this is my second article for Middleburg Eccentric I thought I would dig a little deeper. Get it? Dig? I'm a dog?

Anyways, I wanted to talk about something I've noticed in the last couple years. Years ago when I walked in town there was never a chance you'd see someone not smile or say a kind word. Now, to be honest, I get a lot of compliments, but I am talking more about humans. I recently have seen many more people with sad faces or worried. We dogs can feel these things. Any animal loving human knows this. My human, Tom even starts his day differently. He used to watch the news and get the latest updates on what is happening beyond our town. He now wakes up and watches the news for 10 minutes and spends the rest of the morning with classical music in the background or sometimes he plays music himself. I overheard him tell a friend he needed to change his routine because hearing too much sad news made it impossible for him to go help people in his job.

Part of our job as dogs is to help human-beings process and feel emotions and to be there when someone needs comfort or a laugh. I am worried that there is too much worry and that stops us from greeting each other with a smile. It's amazing what one smile can do for someone and sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we have to think beyond ourselves even for a second because it can make a huge difference in someone's day.

Middleburg is a perfect place to practice this. Let's never forget to hold the door open, drive slowly so you don't hurt someone, smile when you are walking by and always, always lean down and pet a really cute dog.