Pooches: They Call Her "Smiley"

As part of our Freshmen Curriculum, each year I need to read the book 'Of Mice and Men' with my students. Even after teaching it for the past 5 years, multiple times a day, it remains depressing and I still can't read the part where they take Candy's old dog away (I tell the students they need to read that part silently to themselves).

Though this year while watching the movie I did pick up on something funny.

When Lennie and George first arrive at the ranch they are met by lunging, barking, clearly unwelcoming dog who is named "Smiley". 

And for some reason I found this hilarious. 

As I pointed this out to each group of students, and no one else laughed, I realized maybe I should just give Miss M the nickname "Smiley":

Because she is always showing us how excited she is to see us from the moment we wake up: 

Because she is always letting us know how much she enjoys being part of the family:

And she is always showing her appreciation for how well we care for her:

So I've been calling her "Smiley".
Which was funny to me.
Until the other day while we were on our walk and someone else called out to her, "Hey, Smiley".
Maybe because she was giving him this rare look:

Also:
Sometimes she really does smile.
But mostly this. 
Or this.

Check our Facebook page for more photos, comments, and story lines beyond the blog