Brutus

This is Brutus. He lives in greater Chicago area with my sister Laura and her family. My sister's husband, Jim, found him one day in the parking lot of the building where he worked. The dog had a cut on his forehead but otherwise he was in good shape. They ran an ad in the local newspaper and posted signs around the area, but no one ever stepped forward to claim the dog. The dog has now resided with my sister's family for the last two years.

When I visit with them, I have observed over time, every family photo now includes the dog. Brutus has many individual portraits as well, including the one you see above. They adorn the walls and tables in various rooms all around the house. They multiply like rabbits, the pictures I mean. This dog weighs less than eight pounds but his presence in the household is enormous.
Whenever they come up to my house now they always bring Brutus. Its a given. I have no problem with this, and we've determined that Brutus and my cats have an understanding, so its ok. And the cats are ok with Brutus playing with their toys, and if he leaves some behind well it works both ways.

Brutus was up at Thanksgiving, but then Jim left early with my nephew Billy and they took Brutus with them. When Brutus got home he stopped eating and peeing. Now this never happens unless its serious. I was thinking that perhaps this dog had a more complicated emotional landscape than I ever gave him credit for. I thought he missed my sister. Actually, I never considered the dog was all that smart, although one time my sister told me the story of how she showed Brutus her son's hamster. The hamster cage was located on a shelf above her son's bed and the dog may not have been in the room when Laura took it out of the cage. Laura just let the dog sniff noses with the hamster. Well the next day the hamster cage was knocked off the shelf and empty, so Brutus found it.

So, it turns out Brutus' behavior was a result of a muscle spasm in his back. He has got a lot of back. I visited at Christmas and now they have a fancy set of steps to get up onto the bed in my sister's room, one of his favourite spots to sleep. There are books and boxes for the dog to step up onto all the furniture in the house practically, particularily those well chosen spots with views out the front and back windows. They are going on vacation over Christmas and rented a house with a fenced in yard with Brutus' comfort and convenience in mind. They bought a special "under the seat" bag so that Brutus doesn't have to fly in baggage. I've heard that will really mess a dog up. They have dog insurance too.

If anything ever happens to that dog I hope they invite me to the funeral. I think it will be quite the par-tay.