The Hackney Smile maker

It’s a warm spring morning as I come to interview the Hackney smile maker about her work and her life. In the glimmering rays of sunshine penetrating through the freshly burgeoning foliage outside, the smile maker stretches herself and lets out a lazy yawn. Observing her mannerisms indoors, one could be forgiven for thinking they were dealing with a cat rather than a dog. But a dog she is, and very much so. Well, bitch to be precise.

But as we settle in she, presumably having become comfortable with my presence, the smile maker begins to exude a soft but radiant warmth, a sort of unconditional love rarely found between 2 strangers. Any remaining images of cats are disappointed in this love and the cliché characteristics of a female that have given birth to the uphasisim – bitch – are utterly non-existent. With the smile maker now snuggly nestled into plump cushions by the end of the sofa and my recorder set, we begin.

So, tell me, would you say you have the best job in the world?

Hmmm, I’m not sure how to answer that question. That’s a very human way of putting things – “best job”. You humans seem to always need to validate yourselves with having or dong. Being a smile maker isn’t a job for me – its who I am. I don’t get up in the morning and think “oh, I’ve got to go out and make people smile again today… another day, another dollar”. No. I just get up and be myself. It’s not working – its just being. So I can’t say yes, it’s the best job in the world. But if you ask me, does it feel good to make people happy and help them smile, then yes, I would say that’s a pretty awesome thing to do. And I’m very happy to be able to do it.

Fair point. So, did you always know you were going to be a smile maker then, even from a little puppy?

That’s a difficult question, actually. I’m trying to think back to the early days… I think in those initial weeks once we were finally left out into the big, amazing, wonderous world and got exposed to life in all its beauty, complexity and awesomeness, there was a lot going in. So much to smell, to see, to taste, to discover. Every step in the park brought a fresh avalanche of sensual assault. So, for a while I think I was just trying to take all that in, understand it all. Which didn’t leave much time for the bigger questions in life.

But I do remember the first time I made a human smile. I was investigating a new and strange phenomenon at the time. It was something that seemed to be innate and alive in the same time. I knew I had to get my teeth into it to fully understand it so I did. Turns out it was actually something innate – something you humans call “shoe laces” – which was a bit disappointing. But I can still recall the face of the human after I’d chased him down in the park and got hold of his shoe lace for my investigation. When he saw me on the end of his leg chomping on this snake like creature, he looked down with a big frown. Then suddenly just by looking at me his lips lifted, his brow softened and a great big beaming smile grew on his face. I didn’t really understand in that moment why – I mean I was just carrying out my investigation, pretty regular stuff. But I had an intuition in that moment that I had something special, some kind of gift. It was only a fleeting realisation and it was gone again in an instant. But yes, that was the first time I had an insight into my purpose or my mission on this planet. It would be months, or maybe years later that it would return and start to take hold of me.

Wow. That sounds like a powerful moment. Why do you think you have such power over humans?

Haha. I wish I had power of humans – then I’d be having a lot more chicken. If I do have power over humans, its uni-dimensional. I can (sometimes) make them smile or make them happy. Nothing more – though that in itself is something big. As to why…. Well, it’s a gift from God I suppose. Its not something I trained or honed. As I said in the beginning, Im just being myself and if that makes humans happy, then that’s great. I guess though its also to do with being genuine. I am genuinely happy. I don’t pretend. I don’t try. I don’t fake it. I just am it. And perhaps that’s contagious. Humans feel that (most of them) and they can’t help but be affected. And they probably also respond to genuineness. Us dogs are simple. We can only be ourselves. Humans are more complicated. Those big brains you have are great for some things but sometimes they are a hindrance to happiness. You overthink things. For example its much more difficult for you to be yourselves because you can imagine or pretend to be someone else. And from what I see, many of you spend you whole lives doing that. So when you come into contact with someone like me who is genuinely living their true self, I think you sense that and subconsciously respond. It makes you more open and receptive to me and you are more easily affected by my state, which is generally happiness.

Does that make you feel a big burden of responsibility then?

No. That’s a human way of thinking. You believe you are your job and your worth as a being depends on doing your job well. I am not my job. I don’t have a job. I am just me. Of course, I like it when I can make humans smile, even happy. It makes me feel good.