Why a Bouvier is good for your soul.

For those not familiar, a Bouvier des Flandres is a breed
of dog.

Quinn, my Bouvier, can be oh so annoying. He has a
wet beard (which leads to wet everything at bouv
height), a disheveled look, frighteningly smart, tick
magnet (tick, not chick), collects ferns, sticks and
other debris in his coat and beard, he raids
garbage cans, and eats plastic. This is the short
list.

But for all of his "habits" his best one is that he makes
me smile.

He is not a small dog, pushing the nearer side of 90#
and 27 and a pinch at the shoulder, a pocket pet he
is not. Imagine all this dog laying on his back,
completely sprawled out in his crate, too relaxed
to acknowledge me with little more than an eye roll
that I could see through the hair. The sight of him
makes me smile.

Since I mentioned it, lets discuss the hair. All of it.
I want Quinn to look like a Bouvier, no pet cut for
my boy. Why is it that hours of brushing a week
(literally) and he still looks like a rumpled old man
that hasn't changed clothes in a week. Beard a mess,
eyebrows askew, what is up with that? The wild
hairs atop his head and the few that always seem to
curl over his nose make me smile. I have to admit
with all that hair, there is never any on the floor,
or clothing. Yes, his hair makes me grin.

He likes his butt scratched. Leave the head alone
folks and get right to the business end. If I am sitting
at the table he makes sure his rear is near me. As
I scratch, he won't move a bit. This makes me smile.

It makes me smile that he allows me in "his circle".
I would even venture to say that he likes me. You
must understand that Bouvs don't hand out friend-
ship like business cards. More like you feel privileged
if you are given the secret password from him that
says you might be okay by him.

He's not a barker, thank heavens. However if he
does bark, you better take a look because something
is up. I trust his judgement and he has shown me
he has good instincts.

He is not perfect, nor am I but together we can
muddle through life he'll have my back and I
will have his.

Yes, Quinn makes me smile.