<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31);"><span style="font-kerning: none">Choosing A Dog</span></p><div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; min-height: 22px;"><span style="font-kerning: none"></span><br></div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31);"><span style="font-kerning: none">"It's love," they say. You touch<br>
the right one and a whole half of the universe<br>
wakes up, a new half.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31);"><span style="font-kerning: none">Some people never find<br>
that half, or they neglect it or trade it<br>
for money or success and it dies.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31);"><span style="font-kerning: none">The faces of big dogs tell, over the years,<br>
that size is a burden: you enjoy it for awhile<br>
but then maintenance gets to you.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31);"><span style="font-kerning: none">When I get old I think I'll keep, not a little<br>
dog, but a serious dog,<br>
for the casual, drop-in criminal —</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31);"><span style="font-kerning: none">My kind of dog, unimpressed by<br>
dress or manner, just knowing<br>
what's really there by the smell.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31);"><span style="font-kerning: none">Your good dogs, some things that they hear<br>
they don't really want you to know —<br>
it's too grim or ethereal.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31);"><span style="font-kerning: none">And sometimes when they look in the fire<br>
they see time going on and someone alone,<br>
but they don't say anything.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31);"><span style="font-kerning: none"><br></span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31);"><span style="font-kerning: none"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>- William Stafford</p><div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31); min-height: 22px;"><span style="font-kerning: none"></span><br></div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; color: rgb(22, 25, 31);"><span style="font-kerning: none"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> </span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div></div></body></html>