Darby the dog and I go for a walk in the park every morning and I've been watching her interactions with the other dogs. Now that she is 2 years old she is developing a sense of maturity and an awareness of 'choosing her moment'.

Now, Darby is a hairy ball of energy with a heart of gold and I'm proud to say she seems to have a very engaging, respectful and empathetic personality. She, of course, has her park favourites that she recognises immediately, and they bound off with equal levels of exuberance. She also has a delightful curious manner with dogs she doesn't recognise. From a distance of about 100 metres Darby will stop, crouch, and watch – she waits to gauge the mood of a potential friend. Whether Chihuahua, Jack Russell, Staffy or Golden Retriever, Darby steps in slowly and will often belly crawl before the nose or bottom sniff that seems to depend on the level of trust established.

Darby doesn't discriminate, small, large, young, old, white, brown or brindle are all treated with the same mix of friendliness, caution and eagerness. For the very old Darby rolls onto her back in an almost embarrassing gesture of submission – or is it respect? I have also witnessed Darby appearing to gently nuzzle a dog that was seriously ill – was that empathy? There are numerous studies that tell us that dogs/animals are very tuned into our emotions, and I'm sure any animal lover will have stories of how their animal recognises their moods. 

On this R U Ok? Day, I wish more humans would take a minute to stop, notice and observe (crouching, belly crawling and bottom sniffing are not necessary) ... If you sense something different about 'one of your work pack', don't judge, blame or ignore – take a minute to observe and then check in. 

Let's treat others with the compassion that we would like to receive, we all have vulnerabilities, bad days and periods of high stress and not all of us are lucky enough to have our own Darby.

R U Ok? I care.

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