Layla wanted down so we put her about three feet from Strider and, as soon as he could, Strider rolled over on his back and let Layla crawl over. She went immediately to him and just sat there laughing and patting Strider.

It was a total love fest.

Not once did Strider display an ounce of aggression. He just rolled around and wagged his tail and occasionally would stand up and lick Layla on her face and hands, really wherever he could.

Maggie and I just stood there and watched as this grouchy old 80-pound farm dog transformed into a puppy. It truly was amazing.

I looked at Maggie and said, “What do you think?”

Maggie replied, “I have no idea.”

This went on for a few minutes and then Maggie said, “I’m hungry. Let’s go in and have a quick breakfast and then take Layla and Strider for a walk.”

“Sounds good to me!” I said, and with a quick reach down I swooped Layla up and said, “Time for breakfast, big girl!”

It was a gloriously beautiful day on the farm. Sunny but not too warm, it was late spring and there were many varieties of wildflowers blooming.