Ashlyn Kane's Top 5 Favorite Things About Her Dog

Today I’d like to introduce you to my very special hundred-pound chocolate lapdog, Indy. Here are my top 5 favorite things about my boo.

5. His kisses. When he was a puppy, he had undiagnosed food allergies that made him a drooly monster. Before he could start licking to show affection, I taught him to kiss by smooshing his nose against my face. Now he assumes that whenever there’s a face in proximity of his nose, a kiss is the done thing.

4. His trusting nature. A lot of animals shy away when they’re hurt. Indy’s first reaction is to run to Mom. I’m sure it’s because he’s a spoiled, sucky baby, but it warms my heart that he trusts me to make it better.

3. How affectionate he is. No one has ever been as happy to see you as Indy. He particularly enjoys visits from my family—though his enthusiasm about greeting them has led to a few hilarious (from my perspective!) incidents of head-on-nuts contact, because he’s very tall and he likes to run between your legs.

2. He snores. When he’s particularly tired and content, he has a loud, rumbling purr of a snore. It never goes on for more than a few minutes, and it varies in pitch between “diesel truck with faulty muffler” and “tiny cartoon kitten.” My heart.

1. His intuition. Sometimes a lab’s brain is a double-edged sword, like when he wanted to go for a walk but I refused to get off the couch, so he brought me my shoes. I never taught him that. Most of the time, though, it’s great. His vocab is huge, even though I never consciously taught him most of those words either. And when I’m down, he brings me a squeaky toy and coaxes me to play or decides it’s time for a walk to Grandma’s to make me feel better. It works every time.

What about you? What are your favorite things about your fur babies?