National Dog Day (Maple’s Holiday)

Today is National Dog Day, and Maple has been preparing her acceptance remarks all year.

It’s also Women’s Equality Day — commemorating the certification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 — and I want to honor that seriously before Maple takes over: a day marking the long, unfinished work of making sure everyone gets a full voice. Worth pausing on. Worth continuing.

And then there’s the dog of it all. Here’s what I’ll say on Maple’s behalf, since she’s asked me to speak for her: dogs are professors of the exact curriculum I’ve spent years trying to teach. Full presence. Uncomplicated joy. Rest without guilt. Enthusiasm without irony. Loyalty without conditions. Forgiveness without a waiting period. Maple has never once ruined a good moment by worrying about the next one, and I’ve never stopped taking notes.

If you have a dog, today is for the extra walk, the good treat, the belly rub summit. If you don’t, borrow one — their owners rarely object.

Dogs teach full presence, uncomplicated joy, and rest without guilt. Maple has never ruined a good moment by worrying about the next one.

What has a dog — yours or anyone’s — taught you about how to live?