Written Dec. 9, 2010 ~ I am grateful for our pets, and the neighbor cats who visit our garden and enrich our little corner of the universe. Pets touch our lives and warm our hearts. Our homes seem incomplete without them. Our hearts break into a million pieces when we lose them. I don't question why we love these critters so much, I simply give thanks for the ones that played with us as children, watched us grow up, and in some cases followed us into adulthood. There have been big ones, small ones, short-haired and shaggy ones. Smart ones and yes, even slow ones. Canine, feline, and feathered friends, they all share something in common: They really do show us how to be better people. They truly do make us more human.