Top Dog

It all started when I passed one of my coworkers on the stairwell at work and asked him, "How are your boxers?" A comment which, if heard by a random passer-by, could very easily have landed me an incredibly awkward visit to HR. Fortunately for all parties, I was actually referring to his dogs, which are Boxers, just like my #1 gal, Dixie. For those of you who aren't ridiculously obsessed with very attached to your dogs, you may not understand where I am coming from when I say that so-called Dog People are a special breed (ha!) all their own. We can tell who shares our freaky [read: completely acceptable and normal] attachment to their pets and who doesn't. We can catch the stink of puppy love wafting from others of our kind from miles away, and it's not just the occasional odor of an ill-fated step into a yard that hasn't been scanned for poop-mines. It's a sixth sense that this person understands why you cried the first time you left your dog in doggy day care when you went on vacation. And thinks that it's totally normal.

Not only does Coworker share my particular brand of Crazy Love for the Boxer breed, he is extra Nutso for owning two. As we got to talking, he told me that he needed to find a new home for his dogs. I mentioned that LT and I had been considering getting another one, and the rest is history.

This is Brodie. Blogosphere, I am not exaggerating when I say that, along with Dixie [yes, of COURSE I have to put in that qualifying statement], Brodie may be the best dog EVER. Coworker really did a fantastic job raising this guy. Brodie's obedient, playful, happy, and just a pure joy to have around.

He's 5, so he is out of the puppy stage and at a point where he is mellow enough to handle the 3 1/2 year old who sometimes knows no middle ground between whining and yelling. In fact, The Tyke loves this dog as much as I do, because, unlike Dixie, who will halfheartedly chase a flying object until it occurs to her that trying to catch flies with her mouth would be a better use of her time, this dog can fetch. And he LOVES IT! I finally found another being that enjoys doing the same thing over and over as much as The Tyke does, and the lazy parent in me is doing cartwheels of joy at the idea that these two can entertain each other for hours.

We are so lucky that Coworker decided to send Brodie our way. He has adjusted beautifully to living with us and I can't believe well-matched he and Dixie are in temperament. I couldn't have hand-picked a better dog to add to our pack. In fact, Brodie is so well-trained, I am considering taking LT over to Coworker to see if he can send him back with the same results. Coworker may have his work cut out for him, though. Everyone knows you can't teach an old dog new tricks.