Sometimes the message is right in front of you, you just have to learn to read it.

As everyone here knows, I absolutely love animals. Out here is northwest Nebraska, you become accustomed to seeing lots and lots of horses. Oh, there are some beautiful paints, heavy horses, and a black horse with white fetlocks we call, "Boots." But of all the animals I have seen, none seem to have the character of the one Mel and I call, "Goat."

I first saw Goat en route home from Safeway. There is a field full of horses and I noticed something weird - a tic in the landscape that seemed odd and so caught my attention. Underneath the feed trough was what, at first blush, appeared to be a fat dog. The closer I got to the pasture, however, I realized the legs were all wrong. That dog was, in fact, a rotund, coal-black pygmy goat. The horses were casually eating from the trough with Goat content to hang out in the shade below. It was glorious. I laughed all the way home.

From that day forward, I sought out Goat. I have never seen him close up, but there is just something charming about him. I have seen Goat strutting along with the horses as if he was a horse. He has even used the belly of a horse as shade, much as he did the water trough.

I soon began to realize that on the days I did not see Goat, I would have a bad day. Some nonsensical drama would erupt at work and make my life a living hell. But on the days I saw Goat, the opposite was true . Goat became an unwitting harbinger of what my day would be like. It was really weird.

Well, I saw Goat again this morning, rolled down my window, and like a freak of the universe, shrieked out the window, "Yay, Goat! GOOOOOAT! Yay!" Now that was sincerely weird, but it felt great. And as I drove away, I realized that our little microcosm full of stinky pets gives me the same joy as seeing Goat. As a matter of fact, and not caring whether it sounds sappy, every day I spend with our animals is a good day because they are happy to see me in the morning, and even more so upon my return at the close of the day. It had been there the whole time - I just never saw it until now. I think I will get them some treats on the way home this evening. They deserve it.