Imagine that you are a dog living in the NOW. Don’t pick your own dog. It may have it good. Pick a dog that you know, which doesn’t have it so good. Now think of yourself as that dog. You are devoted to your master. You love her with your whole heart and body. You think your sole purpose in life is to care for your master and fill her with joy.
One morning you hear your master go to the bathroom. In an instant, you are wide-awake. You snap to attention, from your cozy place behind the overstuffed chair. You picked that place; it is cool in the summer because it is under the window and warm in the winter because of the radiator. From there you can see everything that goes on in the house.
You move out from your private little place and have a good stretch. Oh, does that feel good. Then you feel a little kink in your back. You must have slept wrong, a common problem from sleeping on the floor, but you don’t mind. After all, you are a dog, and this is a dog’s life. You start to shake, a routine that takes only three seconds. You start with your head, let it roll down your back, and finish with a snap of your tail. Now every bone in your body is back in place. What a wonderful gift.
You go to the foot of the stairs and look up for your master. You sniff the air. Oh, my goodness, your master has morning-dragon mouth. You smell the stale beer, the combination of refried-beans, spicy meat sauce, taco chips, salsa, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, and jalapeno peppers. Yikes! Humans will never learn not to eat such things late at night. You smell the toothpaste, thank goodness.
You realize it’s time to go out. You walk around in a tight circle, sit down again, and bark once for your master. Your master shouts down that she will be right down. However, you hear her turn on the shower. 
This doesn’t help any. You walk around in three tight circles, as if this really helps. You give two sharp barks up the stairs, no response, just singing in the shower. It’s hopeless. Humans can’t hear a thing when they are in the shower.
You start to look around for a place to go, but you think better of the idea. Your master gets very upset when you do that. You check all the doors. Just maybe she left one a-jar. She never does, but there is always a first time. No such luck. You go to the stairs and start to bark. The shower is off, so what’s the problem? You hear major grumbling and become a little bit frightened. You stop barking. When your master appears at the head of the stairs, you wag your tail and try to give her a joyful greeting. She walks past you still grumbling.
She goes to the door. You follow, trying to say good morning. She opens the door and hooks you up to a chain on a run-wire. You turn with one more good morning, but the door closes with you looking after her. You think about how much you like her and all the fun you had playing in the park last week. It quickly comes back to you why you are out here.
You check your territory and mark it out. The neighbor’s cat passed through last night. That is not acceptable.
Then you smell the bacon frying. You stand by the door and whine softly. You don’t want to be a problem. You just want to be with your master. She is your pack, and the pack should be together. You would like to lie at her feet. She doesn’t even need to give you any bacon, although that would be nice. The door never opens.
You hear the hair dryer and smell her body lotion. You wait patiently, but the door doesn’t open. You lie down and meditate on the door. Maybe she’ll get the picture and open up. Finally, you hear footsteps. You 
jump to your feet and start dancing around. Your master is coming. Your master is coming! The door opens, and you wag your tail heard.
She is wearing her beach outfit. Oh, goody, we are going to the beach. That will be so much fun. We can chase sticks, go for swims to cool off, and dig holes in the sand. You knew that she wouldn’t forget you. Wait a minute, what is this? She has your food and water dishes. She sets them down and pets you on the head. She tells you to be good and leaves.
You hear a car pull up out front. Somebody gets out of the car. Now you smell him. Oh no, it’s that boyfriend, who always pulls your ears and says dumb things. He tries to be friendly, but you know he doesn’t like dogs, or any other animal for that matter. The only smell on him is that awful aftershave lotion. You just don’t know what your master sees in him. You hear voices and the car door slams. The car pulls away, leaving a cloud of smoke.
You sit waiting, with the hope that she will change her mind, come back, and get you. That doesn’t happen, so you lie down in the sun and take a little snooze. When you wake up you think of your master and start to wag your tail. She is not even there, but just the thought of her gives you joy. The day passes slowly as you walk your territory a hundred times. You know that she didn’t mean to leave you alone all day. It is the new boyfriend.
The summer sun goes down and you are still tied up. Your food is gone, and because of the heat, you drank all your water. You’re not hungry, but it would be nice to have some more water. You try sitting by the back door, thinking that it might make her come home quicker. All she has to do is see the picture in your head. However, she doesn’t come home.
That night it starts to rain, with thunder and lightning. You become frightened and curl up under a bush. It rains so hard that even the bush cannot give you any protection. Soon your fur is soaked all the way down to the skin. You get up many times to shake out the water, but you just get wet again. Finally, the rain stops, but it starts to turn cold. You shiver to keep warm. You are lonely, wet, thirsty, and cold. You start to think that your master left. That makes you sad, because you love her very much. You would do anything for her.
Late the next morning, you hear that noisy car pull up. It smells awful, but then your master gets out. You jump for joy, and your tail seems to wag its self. The car pulls away and you hear the front door open and close.
You become more and more excited. You sit at attention watching the back door. Finally, it opens, and you are free. You dance about your master, greeting her and showering her with love and affection. You are so glad to see her, you forget about all that is past, and roll in the joy of your master’s return.
At last, you are together again, and that is all that matters. That is the NOW.