John Early:  

round the property. Jesse Jane is the perennial watch dog and a little more aggressive than necessary. In spite of professional training and numerous puppy socials, we still have to be careful with her around other dogs. Although she doesn’t look like a skinhead, she appears to have some latent Nazi tendencies. When other dogs approach, she seems to want to break into Deutschland Uber Alles, but other than that she is a great companion. Quinn, on the other hand, has a wonderful temperament and quite a conversationalist. He is a regular romeo and even has a girlfriend whom he met on an unauthorized adventure last year. The dog’s owner is a breeder and was nearly as excited to meet Quinn as her dog. The breeder lives about a mile away in the house behind ours, and now that Quinn is dating, he has gotten quite demanding about the car and can barely contain himself in anticipation of a romantic encounter when I reach for his leash. His romantic adventures have yielded two litters. Fortunately, the breeder has more customers than necessary, and the pups have all gone to good homes. Our pets are a gentle reminder of who is really at the top of the food chain. If you have any doubts, just consider that you will never see a cat clean up a human litter box, you’ll never see a dog make its owner breakfast, and no matter how many horses you have, it’s always messier and harder to muck a barn than it is to cut the grass yourself. So if you ever encounter an incorrigible juvenile who assumes that he is endowed with infallible wisdom, just quietly hand him a pooper scooper. He’ll never comprehend the symbolism.