Happy National Dog Day

I somehow missed that today was National Dog Day until about 8 p.m. this evening. But, my post for tonight coincides quite nicely.

Last week, I listened to one of the most fascinating Ted Talks ever. It was titled "Depressed Dogs, Cats with OCD - What Animal Madness Means for us Humans." Why was it so fascinating? Because Lauren Braitman touches on the very reasons why I started this dog blog in the first place. After taking Woody to a behavioral vet, I learned more about dog personalities and mental ticks than I ever thought possible. I firmly believe it made me a better dog parent and taught me that dogs are not a one-size-fits all.

I'm not going to do the talk justice by summarizing it, so I highly encourage you watch/listen. The Ted intro is below:

Behind those funny animal videos, sometimes, are oddly human-like problems. Laurel Braitman studies non-human animals who exhibit signs of mental health issues — from compulsive bears to self-destructive rats to monkeys with unlikely friends. Braitman asks what we as humans can learn from watching animals cope with depression, sadness and other all-too-human problems.

Happy National Dog Day to this guy, who always reminds me to just stop and enjoy the party.