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Anyone who has a dog knows that they have some very deep thoughts, that they have moods and emotions, they get their feelings hurt. It's not a far reach to give them opinions and values and long-term desires.

There is no evidence that dogs have the kind of complex emotional lives and value systems that we do. It's one reason why we love them so much, in fact. They are neither "good" nor "bad." They don't hold grudges, act in petty ways, or seek revenge. They read our moods, but not our minds.

Why does watching a dog be a dog fill one with happiness?

When dogs fulfill their roles they are ecstatically happy.

I wish my kid would act like my dog sometimes. My dog listens to me and does what I tell him to do.

Dogs notice, they share, they draw conclusions, they like it when they're able to be of service and are touchingly grateful when they're praised.

Dogs who live in each other's company are calm and pragmatic, never showing the desperate need to make known their needs and feelings or to communicate their observations, as some hysterical dogs who know only the company of our species are likely to do.

When the dog looks at you, the dog is not thinking what kind of a person you are. The dog is not judging you.

Gratitude is a sickness suffered by dogs.