The Pack

Today Brutus asked me to post something that gives equal opportunity to the rest of his pack.  OK, he didn't actually ask me (he's contentedly snoring away on my lap as I type), but I couldn't come up with any clever Brutus-only moments this morning, so here goes.

DUNCAN

Appearing first (because he's the oldest) is my 16+ yr-old Jack Russel Terrier.  In his day, Duncan was quite the athlete - hours of chasing any kind of ball, long walks or rollerblading in the Metroparks, swimming - you couldn't wear him out!  He's been a handful, no doubt, but pleasantly surprised us all when, after 11 years as a spoiled-rotten only child, he adapted to being part of a pack - first with Mason, more recently with Brutus.  Duncan never really did get the hang of the "sharing" concept, though... Sometimes I think he'll live forever, and that does seem to be what terriers do!  Now in the twilight of his life (whether my dad & I like to admit it or not), Duncan sleeps at least 20 hours a day, but is never too tired to let Brutus know he's annoying!    

MASON

An 11-yr old chocolate lab, who came into my husband Paul's life just before I did.  Mason was an only child for 9 years, but has gracefully accepted two other dogs into his home.  Other that his job as Brutus' favorite playmate and wrestling partner, Mason seems to be the alpha dog.  He puts up with a lot, but when he's had enough or if Brutus pushes it too far, Mason lets him know it.  When he's not tied up with Brutus, Mason's favorite pastime is chasing (but not ever coming close to catching) squirrels.   Someone forgot to tell Mason he's supposed to be an outdoor-loving, hunting, water/retrieving dog, as it's all you can do to push him out the door, forget it altogether if it's raining!  However, will retrieve his toys for you (especially if he's feeling ignored), piling them up 10-15 deep at your feet sometimes. He's more of a chocolate couch-potato, but I don't think the AKC recognizes that breed yet....

So there you have it - our pack.  If we go out into extended family, there are also 3 greyhounds (Maggie, Gracie, & Monty), 3 bichons (Leyla, Lucy & Lilia), a boxer (Mocha), a lhasa/shitzu cross (Delila), and chow mix (Casey) that are all aunts/uncles/cousins to our dogs.  Must be a family rule that no home is complete without a canine of some sort.  Brutus is happy to play with all of them, so I'm sure they'll show up in the blog at some point :)

That's it for today - sun's out & its still cool - perfect bulldog-walking weather!