Your Dog

Dear Lucia,

About seven or eight years before you entered my life, I adopted a dog named Bodhi. Now that you are in the family, Bodhi also becomes your dog. Logically, you have become one of Bodhi's people.

Bodhi is a shepherd/rottweiler mix. He's a sweet dog who always wants to be near his people. Bodhi protects us by barking at neighborhood cats, kids playing in the street, and the UPS lady. As is his nature, he likes to herd us by pressing his big body into our knees.

Bodhi also does some bad things. He has been known to sneak onto the leather couch where he likes to scratch the cushions, somehow making them more comfortable. Although your mother forbids it, he brings his bones upstairs, dropping them on the wood floor and leaving marks all over.

One of Bodhi's most endearing qualities is his habit of checking on all of his humans. He'll periodically get up from his bed and walk through rooms, checking to see where each of us has set up shop. Bodhi has even included you on his rounds. We often have to keep him from entering your room as you sleep, but he wants to check on you anyway. You are his; he is yours.

Love,
Dad