That One Time My Puppy And A Little Old Lady Made Me Cry

Brb sobbing (in a good way)

My 15 pound, 7 month old poodle mix Betty frolicked down the sidewalk with the exuberance only a puppy can have. She greets every dog and every human as if she’s never seen either before. Her speed is at 100 or zero with no in-between. We call Betty our tiny tornado because she has boundless energy—and by boundless, I mean BOUNDLESS. She can go for an hour-long walk, then come home and want to play fetch for another hour. We’d be lost without doggy day care a few times a week, because she’ll play with other dogs in a giant backyard literally all day. 

She is the cutest thing I have ever seen. 

We brought her home at 8 weeks old, and my husband and I couldn’t believe we had this angel bb puppy in our lives. But let me tell you, besties—being a puppy parent is not for the weak. This is perhaps for another essay, but I’ll just say that having a high energy pup with zero chill is a full-time, often incredibly challenging job. I’ve cried many tears trying to hold my life together with a tiny tornado in my house. Things have gotten better as she’s gotten older, but life with Betty is equal parts joy and very hard work. It’s honestly giving “I love you, it’s ruining my life” kind of vibes. But we wouldn’t trade it for anything. Just look at her stupid face. 

My literal daughter

As we rounded the corner in my neighborhood, an old woman walked out of her home with a bag in one hand, and a walking cane in the other. Betty, seeing another human she’s literally never met before, starts to wiggle and squiggle her little puppy body, not able to contain her excitement. We’re working very hard on our manners, since not everyone wants to say hi to a precious angel bb, so I pause and smile at this little old lady and try to get Betty to be a calm girl. The little old lady’s face brightens. 

“Hi baby!” she says, grinning from ear to ear. “How are you, baby! Good morning!” 

Betty, hearing the friendliest old lady voice naturally starts losing her mind. 

At this point I’m not quite sure what to do because I want to be very clear—this woman was very old and her hands were very full. Of course I allow Betty to greet people who want to say hi to her, but an image flashed in my brain of my too excited puppy crashing into this woman, who then falls and breaks her hip and everyone becomes very very sad and I go to jail for ruining everything. I did my best to hide my tentativeness, but this woman simply looked to me with bright eyes and said, “I must say hello!” 

I cautiously let Betty get a bit closer, then tried to pick her up so this little old lady wouldn’t have to bend down to pet her. Betty, being the most wiggly of girls, said no thank you.

The little old lady gingerly placed her bag down on the ground and put her cane around her arm and told me, “It’s ok, it’s ok!” then proceeded to very slowly bend at the waist and pet my dog. 

“She must smell my cats,” she chuckled, as Betty licked her hand. “I have cats you know, and they love to cuddle,” she told me. I smiled and nodded. “Betty doesn’t exactly cuddle just yet,” I tell her. “She has so much energy, it’s like she doesn’t have time to cuddle!” 

Another image flashes in my mind of trying to snuggle Betty on the couch and failing miserably. At this stage in her life, she would much rather gnaw on my arm, or play tug with my ponytail or bark at shadows on the wall. I’m still waiting for the cuddly lap dog I thought I would have by now. Sigh. 

“She will eventually,” the woman tells me, knowingly. “All animals are love.” 

She gestures to Betty.

“She is love!” 

Her comment leaves me stunned for a moment as I watch my 7 month old puppy and this 90 year old woman stare into each other's eyes—Betty’s tail gently thumping back and forth. The woman chuckles again, braces herself, carefully picks up her things and wishes us a good day. 

I turned to walk home, then promptly started to cry.  

Unbridled joy seems hard to come by these days. It’s like we don’t want to lean in too hard, because we might look dumb or silly or be judged for something that we truly enjoy, so we stifle our excitement. We tamp it down to protect ourselves. But Betty and this woman very simply had no fear. Witnessing them embody joy so effortlessly was overwhelming. Betty’s joy, which she gives so freely and unabashedly and this woman’s joy—who has very clearly lived a full, happy life. Not only that, the wisdom she dropped so casually and elegantly took my breath away. It was kind of like that gorgeous scene in the Barbie movie, where Barbie sees the old woman at the bus stop and tells her she’s beautiful and she simply responds with, “I know it”. It was very that. A very simple, quiet confidence that can only come with age. Wisdom that should be revered. I couldn’t help but cry. 

One thing I’ve realized as I continue to get older is I notice things on a much deeper level than I used to. I’ve always marveled at the small moments in life, but they can appear brighter and more clear now that I’m well into my 30s. Catching these fleeting, beautiful moments is such a gift. But being fully present to them isn’t easy. We have to put our phones down, pause the seemingly never ending to-do list, take a walk without distraction. Writing allows me to make sense of why this interaction touched me so as I play the moment over in my mind. And it’s love! It’s joy! And I know there are so many more beautiful, little moments like this one to come. I just have to pay attention.

I don’t know if I’ll have moments where I cry over how beautiful my stupid little life is every single day, but I think having gratitude for those moments when they do come up is the whole point of living. And today, a little old lady told me that all animals are love. She told me that Betty is love. 

And I believe her. 🐩💕

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