20/365: Alert!

20/365: Alert!, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

January 20th

Guinness (like the beer, not the book of records, though both come from the same brewery) is my family's dog. He's a chocolate brown labrador retriever.

He's not a historical landmark but I will tell you his story nevertheless: in 2007, our elderly golden retriever Liffey had to be put down. She was spent, and suffering, and my parents said they didn't think they wanted another dog. We buried her in the back yard, poor thing- the vet who gave her the shot was already telling us about pups that needed a home. "We'll think about it," my parents said.

Two days later she called them and said: "There's an accidental litter of labs that need a home, and there's only one little boy left, do you want him or not?"

Yes. Yes, we did.

Guinness, like any dog, can be annoying. He'll roll around in poop and run away from you and wrap his leash around your legs and destroy the shopping when he tries to help you bring it inside. But this dog makes my family smile every day. Every single day. It doesn't matter what else happens, you look at Guinness, he looks back at you, and you have to smile and start speaking in that strange language we grown-up humans presume is what dogs, cats and babies best understand.

He was named after the Irish beer just like Liffey and Shannon were named after the Irish rivers. We all used to live in Ireland and our pets always seem to end up with relevant names. Well, not so the case with my Radesh, but I will tell you about him another time.