Awaiting a smile from a lone otter on the beach, my Bruce notices it and walks slowly, approaching his future friend who is chowing on a fish. Is he curious if the otter will share? I remind my dog to be nice, and he approaches at one angle and then another, to not walk directly towards the small wet furry otter. Paws are in the water, and back to the land, curiosity swimming, as he arrives close upon his adversary or friend.  The otter is unfazed, continuing his lunchtime business unwavering and focused. As Bruce finally approaches it, the otter looks up and bobs his head up and down, and they appear to be greeting each other. I call to Bruce and he turns, turns again and approaches the otter two or three more times, then finally is satisfied and returns down the beach towards his brother and myself.

 Bruce is a friendly dog. He loves all people and animals. I have seen him play with a deer in my yard, and when he first caught a rabbit he wanted to play with it as well, and kept licking its belly, the rabbit still alive. Of course he has grown out of the rabbit play, and will chase, catch and munch on them now until bulging at the belly, but I also trust that he doesn't want to just kill everything. He seemed curious and wanted to make friends with the otter, perhaps wondering politely and full of restrained desire if the otter would share the delicious fish that it had caught and brought to the beach to savor.

 Some say Bruce is dumb or oafish; I believe this is partly due to his looks and the fact that he is so happy, friendly, and Zen. Often dogs are intelligent in a way that we humans can only hope to comprehend. Bruce lowers my blood pressure regularly with simple contact or touch, and is so sad when I get angry, almost never at him, but in his presence. It has been suggested that the veil is actually thinner for animals, that they can see through to the heavenly realm in a way we only wish to understand, and that all dogs go to heaven. I hope to see my Rudy, Kira, Hera, and Sadie there someday, and run on a blossoming grassy hill in the sun, wade through the rivers and slowdown in the forest with all of them.

 I can't express to the full extent of how grateful I am to have two beautiful dogs in my life. Lionel is not a people or dog dog, but is intelligent, loving, sweet and well behaved in a way that compares to no other. As one of the cutest puppies I have ever laid eyes on, he failed to chew up more than one or two simple items in his youth. He is sensitive, and suffers from extreme allergies. Both Bruce and Lionel take up a huge part of my life, I take them almost everywhere with me, to the park two or three times a day, we cook their food for them, and I clean regularly all that goes along with having two (six with my cats and roommate’s dog) furry animals in the house. They are my children, and I am more than happy to cherish and spoil them as I cannot nor desire to have real children of my own, yet we are a family, and a truly happy and blessed one at that. I would not trade Lionel and Bruce for anything, as they enrich my life stupendously, and bring so much light, love, warmth and companionship to my every day.