A coworker brings his dog in, and her expression when she’s allowed to “free range” reminded me of this lovely poem.
Freedom (Louis Dudek)
My two dogs
tied to a tree
by a ten-foot leash
kept whining and howling for an hour
till I let them off.
Now they are lying quietly on the grass
a few feet further from the tree
and they haven’t moved since I let them go.
Freedom may be
only an idea
but it’s a matter of principle
even to a dog.