Little dog in the rain

Several times recently, as I’ve walked from the bus to work, I’ve seen a man walking a cocker spaniel. I never notice the man, and I couldn’t tell you what he looks like. All I really notice is the dog, who is, like most cocker spaniels, attention-grabbingly cute. Cockers generally have dark soulful eyes, but this little guy’s eyes are deep and tragic, dark as dead coals in his blunt little face and full of sorrow, like windows into all the darkness of the world. This morning it was raining, and he was walking out in a neon yellow dog slicker, complete with a little hood.