Could You Scritch A Bit To The Left? Yeah, That's The Stuff.

Barley, a dog, is fully relaxed atop a throw pillow.

Barley, a dog, makes a big smile while being scritched in just the right way.

Barley loves the opportunity provided by a long phone call. She’ll laze on the futon next to me as I provide relaxing, low-energy scritches with my free hand, drifting in and out of sleep. Every once in a while, some particularly choice spot will elicit wakefulness and a big smile, even as the rest of her muscles remain slack as a sack of cooked noodles.