A Formal Apology to Steve Joyce

Dear Steve Joyce,

I owe you a formal apology.  I judged you too harshly  after your appearance on Undercover Boss.  Last week you actually came through for me.  Let me explain.

It was a Tuesday evening when I found myself hungry and exhausted after a full day of driving with my dog.  I was halfway through my move from Dallas to Minneapolis and I hit my driving limit.  I was in the middle of nowhere and needed an economical place to stay – one that would take me AND my dog.  The search engine on my phone directed me to Econolodge, one of your concepts.

I was hesitant at first, Mr. Joyce.  However, I thought back to the Choice Hotels episode of Undercover Boss and I remembered that you really seemed to care about giving your guests a nice, comfortable place to stay.  I figured I owed you another chance.  And I was delirious from sleep deprivation.  I checked in.

The moment I stepped into room 113 of the Econolodge in Kearney, MO I realized I was in a first rate establishment.  The first thing I noticed was the unique location of the smoke detector.  I have been in hotels in which the smoke detectors have gone off, waking me from my slumber.  It was awful! All I wanted to do was sleep!  Thank you for making certain that in the event of a fire my deep sleep would not be disturbed.

The vanity area made me feel like I was in the dressing room of a Hollywood star.  It was lavish, well-lit, and very upscale.

In the bathroom, I noticed another of your safety features.  The typical white surface on the bottom of the tub can be VERY slippery.  Thank you for allowing it to wear away over time and not replacing it.  The hair left by previous guests provided additional traction.

The nightstand let me know how environmentally friendly your hotel is.  Why waste cleaning solution, or even water for that matter, on such an unimportant surface??

Mr. Joyce, the best part of staying in your hotel was the unique decoration.  I think we’re all tired of typical hotel decor.  You know, the floral wallpaper, old-fashioned bed spread, the boring prints of a non-descript landscape….  Thank you for spicing it up.

I must admit, poop on the walls is a pretty progressive approach to interior design, but I think it really worked in this room.  Great idea!

In conclusion, Mr. Joyce, please accept my deepest and most sincere apology for my unkind words.  My stay at your lovely hotel absolutely changed my mind.  Next time I am in Kearney I will be sure to stay again!

Your biggest fan,
Me

Woof!

This dog

Higgins, my roommate's dog

Has a genetic makeup that is 99.8% identical to this guy

The Gray Wolf

Logically I know this to be true.  I still find it so hard to believe.  Their temperaments are drastically different.  Their weight and size are completely opposite.  They eat different foods.  One has the potential to rip my flesh into shreds and gnaw on my bones, the other might lick me to death if I let him.

 I watched a fascinating documentary called “Dogs Decoded” this weekend.  If you’re a dog lover you should definitely check it out.  Here are a couple of interesting tidbits from the film:

• In Siberia there is an experiment that’s been going on for over 50 years.  They are breeding silver foxes for tameness.  They continue to breed the tamest foxes with each other generation after generation.  An unexpected result: the tame foxes actually look more like dogs than their aggressive counterparts.  They have curlier tails, floppier ears, and shorter limbs.  Weird.  This might explain why domestic dogs look so drastically different from the wolf.
• Dogs actually look at human faces differently than they look at other creatures.  When presented with a photo of a human face, the dogs’ gazes track left to look at the right side of our faces first.  Why does this matter?  The right side of the human face is generally more emotionally expressive than the left.  Dogs are actually trying to get a read on our emotions!  They do not do this when looking at faces of other dogs.
• There is a dog named Betsy who can distinguish over 300 different items.  Say “paper” and she’ll go and pickup the toy shaped like a newspaper.  Say rope and she’ll bring you the rope.  Not only that, she can also use reasoning on the same level as a two year old child.  Show her a photograph of the rope and she’ll bring you an actual rope.  Amazing!

 Man’s Best Friend continues to amaze me.

10 Things I’ve Learned from My Dogs

I adore my dogs.  We teach each other, learn from each other, coexist, and love each other.  I’ve had dogs since I was a little girl, and my experience is that dogs teach us really important lessons in life.  Here are some of the most important ones I’ve learned:

 10. A face never lies.  (You may just need to learn how to read it better)

9. Those around you are influenced by your behavior

8. A good haircut can go a long way

7. Yelling is largely ineffective.  Strong body language and the mindset of a leader are much more effective

6. Love sees no color, gender, race, religion, disability.  Love is love.

5. Abusive relationships have lasting consequences

4. It’s never too late, too early, too soon, too often, too anything for a kiss.  Or a lot of them.  Or even just a snuggle.

3. Food is awesome

2. Exercising is SUPER EXCITING!!!  (I haven’t learned this yet.  My dogs are still trying to convince me)

1. Food is awesome

What do you think?  Have you learned from your dog(s)?  Have you not?  Love dogs?  Hate dogs?  I’d love to hear it.