My Boy...

It’s no secret that I love my dog… no, not in that weird (ooky) set-a-place-for-him-at-the-dinner-table way. I don’t let him kiss me on the lips (though he’s been known to peg me on the mouth when I haven’t been paying attention – blech) or buy him expensive toys or clothes (any clothes!). But I do love him a lot. Ryan sometimes gets in a huff and complains that I love him more than I love her, to which I reply, “Well, he never gives me lip or attitude and he usually does what I tell him.”

I think when you have a pet, it’s not only your responsibility to give it what it needs to be physically healthy, it’s also your responsibility to really love it. People who get dogs only to tie them up outside and virtually ignore them confound me (and make me pretty angry, truth be told). Why bother? My dogs have always been part of the family. I can’t imagine it any other way. I believe the love you give a dog comes back to you 1,000 times over… and I believe it shapes their personalities.

Always full of personality, Sundance came into my life when I really needed him most. I did a post a while ago about his entry into our family and another one about his chaotic puppyhood (with pictures).

This is what he looked like 4 ½ years ago, when he came home from the shelter.

Cute, huh?

This is what he looks like now.

Beautiful, isn’t he? I know I’m biased, but people always tell me how pretty he is and I always get questioned about his breed. He’s an odd mix – half-Boxer and half-Australian Shepherd. Weighing about 75lbs, he looks a bit like a white Golden Retriever. He’s got the long legs of the Boxer, which give him a perpetual puppy look (and earned him the nickname ‘Daddy Long-legs’), and he has the head of the Aussie. Though he’s nearly all white, except for a few ‘coffee drip stains’ on his ears, his skin is spotted black and when he’s wet, he looks oddly like a Dalmatian.

His looks suit his personality, which is stellar. There is little about him that doesn’t inspire affection or smiles or all-out adoration. Here are a few things I adore about my boy…

He has to be sure of me… when we’re at the park or hiking, I let him off-leash. He’ll run ahead but he stops every 20 yards or so to be sure I’m close behind. He doesn’t like for me to be out of his sight. Sometimes I’ll hide behind a tree just to see him come flying back, looking for me (I know that’s sort of mean but he is a dog and not a toddler, after all!). In fact, he’s never more than steps away from me. In the car, he sits in the backseat but he makes sure his front paws and head are on the console between the front seats. I use his head as an arm rest and he never seems to mind.

He pets me… he sleeps at the foot of my bed but on weekend mornings, when we sleep a bit later, he crawls up beside me and pets me with his paw. It’s really the sweetest thing (though sometimes it hurts a bit, as he has big feet).

He’s protective… though he’s a big teddy bear, he can sound ferocious if someone comes near us or our house. He doesn’t bother people walking or jogging past, but if anyone actually approaches us directly (especially a man), his hackles go up and he growls. People stay away. I never worry about being out alone when he's with me.

He loves Ryan… though he’s really my dog, he seems to understand that part of his job is to look after Ryan. When we play, I sometimes pretend to spank her. He gets so upset and gets between us, pawing at me and barking. You can see the conflict in his eyes… he knows I’m the boss, but he also knows he can’t let Ryan be harmed. Note that if she smacks me, he doesn’t bother!

He’s lazy… now, this isn’t normally an attribute, but it’s funny. When I get up in the morning, he doesn’t. He opens his eyes and watches me, but he refuses to leave the bed until he hears me in the kitchen, making Ryan’s lunch. Then he comes flying out of the bedroom, looking for a treat. He’s a bigger mooch than he is a sloth.

He has friends… he’s definitely an Alpha-male and he doesn’t take to all dogs, but he has a few friends at the park. Riley, a beautiful Golden Retriever, is his best bud. When we get to the park, Sundance looks for him and when he sees Riley, you can feel the joy just radiating off my boy. His other friends are Brady (a Chow mix), Norman (a yappy little Bichon), Abby (a Cocker Spaniel), and a dog whose name we don’t know (he lives at the edge of the park and Sundance visits him every morning at his dog house). He's always so happy after he’s met up with a friend, just like we are.

He apologizes… when he’s done something for which he’s gotten into trouble (not all that often, really), he acts so sorry. When I’m lecturing (because how else is he going to learn?) he’ll sit directly in front of me, head down, eyes up, looking soulful. Then he pets me. I try to look and sound stern but damn, the dog is cute.

He’s just a happy boy… he has a happy expression (and no, he’s not just panting, you non-dog people). When he’s especially happy, he hugs you… sometimes from behind, which will knock you down if you’re not prepared for it (and no, he’s not humping… he doesn’t do that ever). He hugs me in the park all the time and it makes people laugh (and gets me very dirty).

So that’s my boy in a (rather large) nutshell. Once, I complained to a guy I was dating that pictures of Sundance never really show you who he is. He replied, “You can’t capture a soul with a camera.” And I can’t do it here, in words, either. I really wish I could because I’m telling you, you would love my boy, too.