Lolabelle was a mall dog. She came from one of the high-speed puppy mills, that breed dogs in batches, and then sell them in malls. She was bought by a couple who were in the middle of a divorce. And no-one could take her. The woman didn't want her. And the husband didn't want her. And the boy wanted her but nobody really wanted the boy

And so the man took Lolabelle with him to Canada, where he spent a month camping, and crying, and thinking it all through, and talking to himself. And Lolabelle rode up on the bow of the kayak, perched on the front, leading the way as the man paddled along, and tried to figure out what to do with his life. How to go on

And I think that was where she learn the great skill of empathy. And also where she learned what our meditation teacher keeps telling us. And he says "You should try to learn how to feel sad, without being sad." Which is actually really hard to do. To feel sad, without actually being sad