Because we had the Winter from Hell this year, as soon as it got warm enough this spring, I began to open one of the windows in my home office to let in some cool breezes and to smell the pleasant outside air. One day, Riley noticed that the window was open and that if he jumped up and put his front paws on the windowsill, he could see outside. And with that, a new, fuzzy Mrs. Kravitz was born… (If you don’t know who Gladys Kravitz is, I’ll just say one word, “Bewitched.”) Now, looking outside has become his latest favorite thing to do. Each day, when Riley comes running into my office, he doesn’t immediately come to greet me—his Mommy, his Protector, his Alpha Female… Nope. He runs right by me and my desk and goes over to the window. Riley watches the birds and squirrels now from the safety of my office. His nose twitches a mile a minute when a new smell comes his way. And if a neighbor is out, well, that’s his holy grail. Or, in this case, his doggie grail. In Riley’s world, there’s just nothing better. If I haven’t opened the window—because, say it’s a rare day where it’s pretty dang hot (and the AC is on in the house) or raining or windy, you get the drift—King Riley cops an attitude. To make his frustration known, he will jump up and put his paws on the windowsill, even if the window is shut and the blind is down. Then he puts his face just close enough to the blind so that it makes a noise, letting me know that he wants the window open. If the weather is okay, I’ll comply. But only because he’s so darn cute. I mean, look at him in that photo. Is he cute or what?