And then there are days that make owning dogs completely worthwhile. As I sat here in the bedroom tonight amid a swirl of robust dog flatulence, Nora walked in from the kitchen where she had been eating, jumped up on the bed, and promptly puked up the recently consumed dog food onto the sheets near my feet. She hesitated briefly to hack and sputter, licked her chops, looked up at me, then proceeded to re-consume the disgusting goo. Then she hopped off the bed leaving a film of saliva and dog food flecks behind. Moments later she returned to whimper and claw at my face so that I would be alerted that it was time to stumble down to the freezing cold basement so that she could be let outside to pee and bark at things. Man’s best friend.