ANIMALS SHOWING GRATITUDE By Allen and Linda Anderson

A woman from Switzerland wrote to us about how an animal showed her that expressing gratitude could teach her the true meaning of love. We could relate.

Our cat Cuddles licks our fingers in the morning, as soon as the alarm clock wakes us up. We always think she's paying it forward and showing gratitude that we're about to feed her breakfast. But maybe she's already grateful for a new day.

Our dog Leaf shows enthusiasm for the little things. He appreciates mealtime, taking a walk, and going to the doggie day care to play with the other dogs. His whole body shakes with anticipation before each visit, and he repeatedly kisses us, as we begin our journey to his favorite place.

He squeals with excitement when he sees the building and then races into the door. Everybody enjoys seeing his love of being there to play.

In fact, Leaf's immense gratitude encourages us to bring him to daycare as often as possible, even when it's a tight pinch financially. This experience got us to thinking about how having gratitude opens a person or animal to receive even more gifts and blessings from life.

How does your pet show gratitude? What does an animal teach you about the power of a grateful heart?

You can post your answers to these questions and comments at our Angel Animals Facebook page: www.facebook.com/angelanimalsnetwork and "Like" Angel Animals while you're there.

Author's Bio: 

Allen and Linda Anderson, speakers, authors, and founders of the Angel Animals Network, help people discover and benefit from the miraculous powers of animals. They are dedicated to promoting human-animal companionship and the idea that pets are family. Allen and Linda donate a portion of proceeds from their work to animal rescue organizations and they do fundraising activities.