Last week I was faced with meeting some long-lost relatives. I was a little nervous about the whole thing, so I did what most people would: I baked a dessert and borrowed an adorable Boxer puppy.

I pulled into my parents’ driveway with the reunion already in full swing. I entered the house like I always do, with Denver in tow. Denver trotted into the kitchen ahead of me and was greeted with a chorus of screams. My long-lost cousin’s doughters, it seemed, were terrified of dogs.

I quickly tucked Denver away into the gated-off dog room and went back to the car, figuring I would leave the puppy in her crate in the basement and sneak away for play sessions with her.

I was walking up the back steps when I heard another commotion coming from inside the house. I heard yells of “She’s got a puppy!” though this time they sounded decidedly excited. As soon as I opened the door the two young girls asked if they could hold her. I replied, confused “You like puppies?” I know it seems like a dumb question, but it didn’t compute to me that someone could be afraid of dogs but be totally taken by a puppy. My ‘couslets’ spent the rest of the evening fussing over and loving the happy puppy. Leading me to an inevitable conclusion: Puppies are magic.

Think about it. I mean, what was the real reason the cold war never became an actual war? Many historians would tell you it’s a number of reasons, but they’d be wrong. The real reason is because Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev gifted the Kennedys a puppy (a space puppy). Could you ever wage war on a guy who gave you a puppy? Didn’t think so.
So the next time you find yourself facing a particularly tricky situation, bring a puppy with you. Trust me.