I live in house full of busy people. At this stage we all go in different directions all day long. People are coming and going. To add to this we don’t always see eye to eye on everything. Kids and parents. Males and females. Young and old. We are not short of opinions in my house nor are we afraid to share them. There is one thing we will always be able to talk and laugh about. Brutus, our bulldog.
It’s really an interesting dynamic. Brutus is almost six years old. He is adorable and funny. He has such an odd personality for a dog none of us can help but make a fuss over him. He is always doing something to make us laugh. We sit around and talk about him like he’s a real person (to us he is, of course).
Brutus is afraid of everything. Buckets, brooms, mops, vacuums, loud noises, popping sounds, footballs, basketballs, pool cues (that may be from teenagers chasing him with them, sigh), running water, and plastic bags. There’s more but I could be here all day. For a breed people think of as tough, he is a wuss.
Brutus loves to pose for pictures. He will sit up and look straight at the camera when he sees someone ready to take his picture. He will do an over the shoulder pose or just sit patiently and wait for you to get it right. He’s a ham.
He is very sensitive. If he sees one of us with a suitcase, it’s over. He gets depressed and hides under the bed for a few days and won’t eat.
He has a stench. I guess it's a bulldog thing. Even with a bath it pretty much comes right back. Not only that but there are other smells. Nuff said.
He has anxiety. If we take him on vacation in the motorhome he will pant and drool for the entire drive and then it will take him three days before he will eat again.
The greatest thing about him though, even with all these high maintenance behaviors, is he brings my family together. We will sit and fuss over him and talk about him. We send each other pictures and video of him throughout the day. If one of us is gone one of the first things asked when we call is “How’s Brutus?” We will talk to him on speaker phone from out of town if he’s depressed.
At this time in our lives when my family is always in a state of flux, Brutus brings us together and for that alone he’s worth all the extra work. And the smell…
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