One of the happiest moments of my day is going home and being greeted by Butters. When I open the door, I hear the clicking of her toes as her body shimmies and shakes with excitement. This moment is what all dog lovers look forward to. It’s the few minutes in your day when your canine companion shows you how thrilled they are that you decided to return home again.

When I first adopted Butters, my friend Myles told me, “You realize that you’re now the center of her world.” At the time, I didn’t fully understand what that meant. But each day I spend with Butters, I learn that she only has me…for better or worse. Because her life isn’t too complex. I imagine she sleeps most of the day, maybe barks at people walking near the apartment and slurps a little bit of water here and there. But most of all, I think she just waits. She waits for the door to unlock and for me to appear from the other side. She is a loyal, cuddly friend who shows me enthusiasm I’m really not that deserving of since I haven’t really done anything. All I’ve done is returned back home.

When Butters and I lived in Santa Barbara, I took her to the long beaches of Santa Barbara. I let her off the leash and she would race along the water. Now, in the absence of a SoCal beach, I seek out alternate places for her to run freely. I want to give something back to her for showing me how much she loves me.

One day, I drove for an hour outside of Seattle to find an off-leash dog park. It wasn’t the beach but it felt good to give a little something back.

I think Butters enjoyed it too.