Today is Love your Pet day!

Well, we're hanging on here in frigid central New York. Persistent single digits, lots of snow, wind chill....it's been a brutal winter. Lots of laziness, lots of huddling on the couch in hoodies and under blankets. To add insult to injury, even sunny days aren't warm ones. Quite the opposite!

But evidently today is Love Your Pet Day.

There are lots of things I love about Elka, obviously. Probably the one I brag about the most is just how darned smart she is. How much she understands, even as "just" a dog.

So of course, there's the flip side of that coin; I also love it when she's being adorably "dumb", because she is a dog and not a human. She knows part of of the story, has pieces of the puzzle, but can't necessarily put them all together.

I love her sweet face, and her "Did you see that?!" look, and just the way she listens and interacts.

And oh yeah, I guess I should mention I love her warmth! I mean that both literally and metaphorically. I love cuddling with her and her body heat on winter nights, and I love how joyful she is when anybody comes over, or when I come home from work, or just waking up in the morning!