An Unprecedented Best Friend

Oscar is a dream come true in so many ways, but "friendly to all" is not a mantle that has ever fit him well. He is, let's just say, supremely choosy about who he'll let into his bubble (and if you make it in, you best not push your luck). I don't fault him for this personality trait one bit, but it did take years to get used to and train around, and to this day, if there's another dog in the vicinity, I've got one eye squarely on him - watching for any hint of foreboding body language.

Then along came Maisey...

Maisey is to Oscar what a gecko might be to a komodo dragon - squirrelly to his stately, submissive to his assertive, and "on" to his more frequent than not "off". Yet literally the day these two met (as newfound studio mates about a year ago) Oscar decided this freckly, 35lb little princess would get the mother of all hall-passes in his book. Among her more high-value allowances: she can drink from his water bowl, steal treats from a hand outstretched to his patient nose, clamber into my lap while he's getting a head scratch, and even snuggle onto his bed - with him still on it! (this, btw, is possibly the most heart-warming thing I've ever seen him tolerate...)


Maybe the old man has become too lazy to waste energy on correcting her youthful exuberance, but I prefer to think that Maisey's charms are just a cut above all those who've come before. For reasons my pale human senses will never understand, the chemistry between these two simply neutralizes all ills.