Big Dog, Little Dog

Bear was a very large dog. We surmise that he was half Setter and half Newfoundland. His head was large, proportionally to the already large frame. I think he weighed about ninety pounds.
I think you already know that I took him with me to work most days. Well, I was remodeling a home for a friend of mine. They had this small, and I do mean small, miniature Chihuahua. I swear that you could have lain him on a dinner plate all stretched out and none of his body would have hung over the edge of the plate. The two dogs played endlessly. It was so funny to see Bear trotting, slow for him, behind this other dog that was running as fast as he could till his legs were blurry.
This one very hot day, I decided to go to the Orient Store for a pack of Pepsi. Since the store was easy to go into and back out in a hurry, I decided to bring both dogs along. I parked my Dodge Van, leaving both windows open and found what I wanted. As I was returning to the Van, I saw the most precious thing ever. I will try to paint a word picture to do it justice. I did not have a camera.
As Bear would always do, he was watching for my return. He was standing up with his front feet in my seat and his back feet on the engine hump. When he stood in my seat he had to lower his head from normal height in order to look out the side window. As I said earlier, his head was very large and it took up most of the window. What was so hilarious, was that every so often, this little tiny black head would pop up over the bottom of the door into view and then fall back away. You could see that this little dog wanted to see what Bear was looking at. He was so small that even standing on his tip toes he could not stay high enough to gaze out the window. Both dogs had this "glad you came back" look on their faces. It was so precious. A real Mutt and Jeff, if ever there was one.
Kayak Bandit

Lawn Chair Sleeping

During our trip to Deception pass, we spent a lot of time around the campfire. Sadly, for the dogs, they had to be tied behind us with short enough leashes that they could not entangle the chairs. The dogs always seemed sad with this arrangement.
After a while, Bandit resolved that it was the way it was and he would lay down and curl into a snug little circle with his tail over his nose. To me, he looked like a sled dog. What are those? Malamute or Husky? Bandit would get all excited if he was released from his leash and could pick up stray popcorn or other dropped food pieces.
Well, one evening, the kids coaxed him into a child's lawn chair. It was much too small for him to fit into comfortably. Nonetheless, he had a look of contentment. His back end was hanging over on one side and his face was resting on the chair's arm on the other side. One of his front legs was helping balance by dangling to the ground. It did not look comfortable to me. Yet, he was so very happy to be in that chair.
The next evening, the kids again invited him to that chair. Bandit eagerly got into it. He stayed in the chair until time to go to be. The kids had long ago gone to bed and it was only adults around the fire discussing why the dog liked the chair so much. We supposed that he was honored to be where the action was.
We talked about it quite a bit. Eventually, I got a larger lawn chair and positioned it near the fire and invited Bandit to lie in it. He was likewise, eager to get into this chair. He could get comfortable in this chair and stayed until bedtime.
Well, when I got home, I brought the same chair into the house. I set it up at the foot of my bed. I invited Bandit into the chair. He did not even try to get comfortable. He just sat there until he thought I was not paying attention and got down onto the floor and curled up there. I again invited him to the chair and stayed with him to assure him it was okay to be up on furniture. (He normally does not get to be on furniture) Eventually, he laid his head down. But again as soon as he had a chance to get down he took the chance.
So, what do you think the psychology of all this is? Does he really like the chair when at the fire, or is it that he likes to be in the circle by the fire with us?
Kayak Bandit

First Best Friend

There was another dog in my life before Bandit. Bear came to live with us over a period of time. He started showing up one fall. Most days, I would pet him and then send him away, saying "Go home." He would disappear.
When he was not hanging around at our house, you could often see him across the main road at the park. He would gallop over to someone and stand a short distance from them and look at them. I sensed a bit of disappointment in him, when he would get close enough to someone to get a good look, or sniff, as the case may be. It was as though he saw the person from a distance, and so he would run to them to see if they could possibly be his lost master. When he would get up to them, he would get the answer that he dreaded. No it is not my lost master.
Over time, Bear would not leave when I told him to go home. He would get up from where he was and move onto the neighbors driveway and lie down there. He had this way of crossing his front feet and resting his chin on his legs. He was so likable when he was laying there. I could not resist a pat on the head as I walked by.
Sometimes when I was working on a project and needed to think about something. I would go over to Bear and pet him while I thought. It usually had good results. It is amazing how much better a man can think when he is stroking his best friend.
Well, fall turned to winter. Bear still hung around. I don't remember feeding him, but I am not sure. Then it was Christmas Eve. There was a wet snow falling and Bear was laying there watching me as I walked past him. His very black coat was such a contrast with the white snow. I passed him, but could not continue. I turned around and looked closely at him. His face was dusted with the snow and a couple very large flakes were resting on his eye lashes.
I brought him to the back door and set a bowl of food for him and found a rug for him to lie on. I explained that he could stay inside since it was snowing and because it was Christmas.
Bear was very well behaved. When I called the Humane Society after Christmas to report I had a stray dog, the lady on the phone agreed to take down the lost pet information. But, she remarked that it seemed the dog was where he wanted to be, so why would I be calling? It just seemed, to me, that one should try to find an owner if they could.
Bear never lost his habit of running toward people and checking them out. I felt sad that someone possibly dropped him off at the park. It showed me how much loyalty a dog can have for an owner. Truly "Mans Best Friend!"
Kayak Bandit '(*!*)'