Cold Enough For You - Woo - Oo?

There’s something about seeing a happy dog.

It almost forces you to smile.

Reading animals’ emotions can be tricky. But if you’ve ever seen a husky or malamute frolicking in fresh snow, you know some canine moods are obvious.

For a moment at least, that joy can be contagious.

It’s not something that would show up in tourism brochures. And maybe it isn’t much of a trade-off for burst pipes and frictionless streets.

But one of the good things about living in a place that experiences our kind of winters is that you occasionally get to observe arctic dogs in states of stone cold ecstasy.

It’s a sight worth seeing.

Their bouncy spirit can be a quick clinic in what it means to be alive.

It’s always nice to be reminded that skiers aren’t the only ones who view winter as something to be celebrated.

You can sort of get the same morale boost from watching bundled-up little kids build a snowfort. Still, that’s not quite the same.

With children, you know that soon they’ll be inside dripping water on the kitchen floor and requesting hot chocolate. Arctic dogs, on the other hand, will howl and dare the north wind to bring it on.

They don’t even mind if you ask: Cold enough for ya?

HOW-OOOOOOOOOOOO-WOO-WOO-WOO!

OK, perhaps seeing well-insulated pooches laugh at the temperature is exciting only to those already attracted to these extra-furry breeds.

After all, not everybody sees a bright-eyed U-Dub symbol and yearns to give it a big hug. Some view them as wolves in pets’ clothing.

All large dogs should be regarded with a degree of caution, of course. It would be a mistake to get friendly too fast with a strange animal.

But if you’ve ever seen a toddler stagger up to one of these family-dog Jack London characters and all but disappear in its thick fur, you know that it’s their nature to be our friends.

Maybe that’s why it’s so much fun to watch them revel in winter weather. It’s simply a picture of the way things are supposed to be.

The looks on their fuzzy faces form a simple question: “Got any sleds that need pulling?”

Climate isn’t everything, though. A well cared-for Samoyed in Texas is better off than an ignored or abused one in Coeur d’Alene.

But all other things being equal, it just seems right and natural that these dogs should get at least a taste of real winter every year.

They were made for it.

And seeing them in their element can fire up a warm feeling regardless of what the thermometer says.

* Furry Talk query: What’s the story behind your pet’s name?