Imagine

Every day, Poppy makes new friends. Making friends for her is as easy as breathing, as easy as keeping her own heart beating.

She greets any new person with such enthusiasm that they are immediately drawn to her sweet nature and she races to greet old friends where she is confident of a warm welcome and knows she will be fussed and petted.

She meets all dogs with the same open friendliness. It doesn’t matter what breed or colour or temperament, she is happy to be friends as long as they are not aggressive towards her.

Poppy never returns any hostility. If another dog does appear fierce, or approaches her in too boisterous a manner, she will immediately become submissive, laying her head on one side and often making herself seem smaller by lying down.

When she does this, it completely defuses the aggression. Seeing that Poppy poses no threat, the other dog nearly always ceases its antagonistic behaviour and they will sniff each other in the way that all dogs get to know each other.

She lets our friends’ dogs share her beds and sometimes even her bowl of food or her treats.

And of course, she is endlessly patient with our three cats too when they rub up against her legs, walk under her belly or even tread lightly on her snoozing body as they jump up to their feeding station.

Now that the cats trust her so much, and are bold enough to challenge her, she even allows them take over some of her favourite resting places.

We are grateful each day for our dog’s good nature and peaceable approach to life. It makes her so easy to live with.

How much better a world would it be if only people treated each other with the same acceptance and lack of hostility.

Imagine … all the people living with Poppy’s desire for peace.