Day after day for the past four months or so, on the rare occasions that I turned on the news, I was almost always sorry I had done so. The news was bad. Real bad. Coronavirus numbers were increasing and then they weren’t and then they were again. People were wearing masks and not wearing masks. There weren’t enough ventilators and then there were enough and then once again not enough. Yuck. I was better off not knowing what was going on outside my family unit.

Yesterday, I found a spark of happiness amidst the negative COVID-19 news, and it came from a dog. Pluto, the talking schnauzer. Even talking dogs make me feel better than does NBC anchor Lester Holt (who, ironically, was an announcer for the Westminster Dog Show for a number of years. Maybe he knew Pluto.).

If you haven’t heard of Pluto Living, it is a You Tube channel created by NJ Wight, a wildlife photographer who lives in the Canadalands. (If you are a Pluto fan, you know what that means.) Ms. Wight apparently started the You Tube channel to provide entertainment and comfort for all of us facing months of quarantine. To her surprise, Pluto’s voice resonated with many folks, and she and her dog Pluto became a You Tube sensation. Pluto provides a much-needed — and often very funny — perspective about COVID-19 and the quarantine, and “two-leggeds” in general.

Yesterday morning, I was fed one of her new posts. (I am not ashamed to admit that my 9-year-old granddaughter Mylee taught me how to subscribe and receive notifications for You Tube channels. Including her own. The girl is going to be a computer programmer.) Anyhoo, Pluto suggested that we stop being depressed and confused and angry and impatient about what’s happening in the world, and instead, embrace it. After all, according to this talking schnauzer, even the word FLUX is funny. And that’s what we’re in a state of: FLUX. But, says Pluto, instead of dreading each new day, look forward to the ride. Hang in. Be brave. Laugh. Ride the wave.

Good advice, especially coming from a schnauzer.

Also, Jen forwarded a piece of information she received in her role as a financial advisor that suggested that the market believes that things on the COVID-19 front are looking up. The maker of the coronavirus treatment drug, Remdesivir, says its drug reduces the risk of mortality by 62 percent when compared to standard care. That’s certainly good news for those who are unable to avoid the virus. But what made me even happier is that a company called BioNTech says its vaccine could be ready for approval by December.

Can you say Game Changer?

As we look ahead to what sometimes seems like an eternity of wearing masks and waving to our friends from afar, it’s a beacon of hope to think that a time might come very soon when we can receive a vaccine and enter a normal — or at least a MORE normal world once again.

That will feel really good. In the meantime, I look to Pluto to bring me hope.