It's the Little Things

By: Jamie Klinger-Krebs

Every once in a while a little kindness from a complete stranger can really make you realize that there really is goodness left in the world. 

A few years ago our Border collie, Dale, became very good friends with the woman who delivered newspapers in our neighborhood. I had never met this woman before, but each day she’d drop off a paper and if Dale was outside, she’d stop, give him a pat on the head and offer him a treat. At first I wasn’t entirely thrilled with this scenario. I felt this stranger was teaching our dog to approach cars near the road, and also adding to his increasing weight problem by feeding him between meals. But, as time went on and this process continued, I began to take notice just how much this woman’s face would light up every time she saw our dog.  I soon stopped thinking about Dale’s extra pounds as I observed him beginning to recognize her car as well. He’d wag his tale voraciously when he saw her coming and he never approached the road unless he knew it was her. It quickly became a ritual to let him out at the same time each day to wait for her. As more time passed, the woman’s little treats soon turned into larger chew bones for Dale and if I forgot to let him out to wait for her, he’d bark excitedly at the sight of her car rounding the corner and he’d whine insistently until I let him out to greet her. As she noticed his excitement, the woman’s smile grew larger every day.

Soon I started to come outside just to observe the interaction between our dog and this new friend. I’d sometimes chat with her about the weather and tell her how excited Dale was to see her, and she would always exclaim what a wonderful dog we had and how much he reminded her of her own dog who had recently passed away. Having too felt the painful ache of losing a pet, I immediately became sympathetic and I was happy that we were able to brighten this woman’s day. There were times I swear Dale would have jumped in her car and gone home with her if I’d let him, and I’m sure she would have been happy to oblige.

But then one sunny Friday afternoon I came home to find a letter addressed to “Dale’s mom and dad” and a pack of bones in the mailbox. It was a note from our friend, who I now know is named Linda. In the letter she stated that she would no longer be delivering papers and was moving on to complete an internship. She thanked us for sharing our dog with her and expressed how seeing him each day had helped her through the hard time of losing her own dog, Kodie. Then she simply wished us much love and happiness.

Though Linda’s gesture was small, her kindness was great. I was truly touched by her actions. Even though a few years have passed now, that note still hangs on our refrigerator. It’s a constant reminder that when things don’t go my way or when life doesn’t seem to slow down, it’s the little things in life (or the happy face of a dog) that sometimes make the greatest impact. In some small way our dog touched her life and in many ways, she touched ours, too. I’m grateful that Linda came into our lives, even if it was for a brief time. She reminded me just how wonderful it is to be a dog owner and the great impact dogs can have on our lives – great or small. Wherever Linda is now, we hope she’s doing well. Though she may never know the impact she had on us, we won’t soon forget. And, when a newspaper delivery person rounds the corner and Dale’s ears go up and his tail wags, we know he hasn’t forgotten either.