When it comes to having a good friend, most people look for common qualities: loyal, trustworthy, dependable, and non-judgmental. I’ve found these traits are often found in four-legged friends: dogs.
All my life, my family has owned a dog. They would come and go, but if one passed, it wouldn’t be long before we started searching for a new companion.
We currently have two dogs. The first, Bullet, is 15 years old. We purchased him when he was a little 6-month old pup, and everyone in the family immediately fell in love. He somehow learned to do everything right without much training. He mastered swimming, fetching, catching, and all the basic commands. We even taught him how to hug! Even though he’s an absolute sweetheart, he’s been a great guard dog. He scares off unfamiliar visitors – many of whom lack the courage to exit their car until a family member is present to calm him down.
The second dog, Pupster, is a recent addition to the family. She, unfortunately, is the complete opposite of Bullet. She’s only two years old and has a lot to learn. She still jumps up on you when you come home and often tries to climb in the car before you have a chance to get out. She helps herself to any and all furniture in our home. She gives you a blank stare and remains still when you give her any command, and thinks it’s cute to bite your hand when you’re petting her – your feet if you try ignoring her. On one occasion, she was left alone in the kitchen after my brother baked a batch of cookies. She was found several minutes later on the counter after eating sixteen chocolate chip cookies. Needless to say, she’s an absolute brat.
Watching the two interact is really interesting. Seniority means nothing to the pup. Two dishes of food are set out. Bullet, a little slower in his old age, only gets to eat what he can before Pupster begins eating out of his dish. Not very aggressive toward friends, Bullet backs down and allows her to help herself.
When swimming, Pupster takes great pride in being able to reach the dummy before Bullet. If, for some reason, she doesn’t make it before him, she’s not afraid to steal it out of his mouth. Very submissive, Bullet releases his grip and allows her to get the glory for retrieving the dummy.
She’s always bumping into him, half the time knocking him over due to his weakening legs. She picks fights with neighborhood dogs. Once they begin to fight back, she scurries away and hides behind the protection of Bullet. Known as the big dog on the block, it doesn’t take much for other dogs to accept defeat and back off.
Pupster is so tied up with trying to get what she wants and is so attention thirsty that she hasn’t even taken note to the completely selfless, solid, dedicated friend at her side. She takes full advantage of having such a great companion and is oblivious to the fact that her actions often hurt Bullet.
Watching the two makes me really sad. I’ve loved Bullet since the day our family brought him home. He’s run by my side for many jogs, and has trekked along on many bike trips my brother and I would take him on. In his younger days, he was pretty insistent of leading the way and always ran faster than we could bike. We’d try our hardest, throwing a stick in the opposite direction before we hopped on our bikes and took off, but it never failed. He would always catch up and beat us to the destination.
Now, on a good day, he can barely run to the end of our driveway. He wants to come along when I go jogging, but really struggles to keep up, turning my jog into a very slow walk.
Our family has never been privileged to keep a dog around this long. He’s truly a part of the family, and it will be hard to see him go.
This leaves me wishing of a way to swap the dog’s bodies. Even though sometimes she’s cute, it would be a lot easier to say goodbye to Pupster-the-Pain and keep good ol’ Bully-Wully around.
Shootin’ the Wit is a weekly column about everyday life that should never, ever be taken too seriously. 

[email protected]

I’m a writer and photographer who loves old cars, big dogs and trying stuff for the first time. I believe everyone should have a bucket list because life isn’t about working, paying bills and having the latest and greatest. It’s about experiences. Achieving goals. People. Adventures. Travel.

I’ve never dyed my hair, broken a bone, or watched a Star Wars movie, and I don’t plan on doing any of these.