barco fix

"Enough with the politics. We want to see some puppy photographs."

I have now received several email from readers who are curious if I still have a dog. I do. But he is definitely not a puppy. And I will have more on that tomorrow.

There are still a few puppy tales tied to some of my previous essays that I have not yet had time to compose. Today is a good day to write.

Last June I told you I work hard at keeping my lines of communication open with old friends. Relationships are very important to me (moving to mexico -- staying in touch). It has taken decades to mature some of those friendships; I do not want to lose them.

And, like all good communication, my friends often surprise me with gifts. Bath mats. Books. Bank cards. Even gifts for the dog.

My group of friends in college centered around a political association. A political association that was a decided minority at my school.

One of the first people I met there was a young woman whose family had moved to Oregon from Mississippi. Corinth, Mississippi, to be exact.

Sarah was always the life of any party -- political or social. She could light up a room with her presence. Not to mention her laugh. Musical would not be a correct adjective. Hearty is more like it. When I was stationed in Greece, she came for a visit along with some other of our college crowd.

Sarah and her husband, Steve, have a golden retriever named Duncan. That gives them a special connection with Barco. After reading some of my Barco tales, Sarah sent him a gift through the Mexican postal service. It took its time getting here, but it arrived perfectly intact.

A blue bandana collar and a fox chew toy.

That is Barco at the top of this essay taking his new toy for a swim. Well, rather a sit. Even though he is a water dog, his idea of swimming is to sit on the bench in the pool.

I have almost forgotten just how difficult it is to shoot a puppy having fun. I say "puppy" because he was still puppy size when I took these photographs -- three months ago. He still is a bundle of energy. And he has a knack for getting himself into positions that do not lend themselves to Hallmark card moments.

But they are puppy shots.

So, we will put Hillary and Donald back in their little inconsequential boxes to celebrate friendship, difficult photography, and the joy of life only a dog can bring.

Thanks for making this moment possible, Sarah.

Oh, by the way, the squeakers at the front and rear of the fox actually survived a month's worth of puppy pummeling. He still grabs the cloth to share with visitors.