The “newest member of Club Tripod in DC” will cheer you up:

The last few weeks have been so depressing news-wise, I thought I’d pass along something upbeat. Jack came back from Sierra Leone with me two years ago with a limp and arthritis due to an injury that had healed poorly (there’s only one vet in the entire country). When it got worse this summer, I visited an orthopedic surgeon who suggested a range of options, from physical therapy to arthroscopy. She didn’t mention amputation, but when I asked about it, she said that this was the best option, though pet owners tend to react poorly to the suggestion.

It’s been just three weeks since the surgery and she already moves as if her leg were never there. Dogs are amazingly resilient. On our walk this morning, a little boy pointed to her and told his mom to “look at how fast that dog is!”

When people see little Bowie charging like a bullet down the beach after her favorite yellow tennis ball (as seen below), they gawk in wonder:

Bowie remains utterly indifferent to the missing leg. It’s all about the ball. Even when she sometimes wipes out (it happens on stairs), she immediately tries again, and almost always succeeds.

And yes, when the world seems too grim, these are the things you live for. I can’t imagine getting through the day without her untrammeled joy at being alive.

Update from a reader:

If you aren’t familiar with it, you should check out the moving, beautiful story of Haatchi and Little B.  Haatchi was abandoned on railroad tracks, hit by a train, and left for dead.  He lost one of his rear legs and most of his tail.  After being rescued, he was adopted by Little B.’s family, and he really helped Little B., a disabled boy with a rare genetic disorder, come of his shell.

If you can watch this video without crying, you’re made of stone: