A Dog Wants To Be My Friend (Animal Story 1)

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Yesterday my husband and I visited friends of ours who've got a new dog. It's their third. The predecessors are in dog heaven after long, happy lives. The new one is black - like the others were. It looks a bit like the one in the pixabey photo. It also has a white bib. It's a mixture of this and that. Our friends told us of what, but not being informed about (and also not very interested in) dog breeds most of what they said passed me by. I only remember that there's a bit of a border collie in it. They named the dog Leon. It was Leo at first, but they thought that the 'n' at the end of the name gave it more authority when they used it, especially now while they're still in the training stage. The dog is four months old and a playful puppy full of temperament. I'm not a dog person. I love cats. Unfortunately, we don't have one, but that's a different topic. I've noticed, however, that dogs love me. I don't have the foggiest idea why that is so. I don't encourage them. On the contrary, I show them that I'm not too keen on their proofs of affection. We were all sitting round a table eating plum cake with crumble and whipped cream - the cake of the season and a speciality of my friend's. When I wasn't eating or drinking tea, I had my hands in my lap. Several times, the dog crept under the table to where I was sitting and licked my hands. I was startled and shrieked and said, "Nein, nein (no, no)!" in a stern voice, but Leon wasn't impressed. On the contrary. He untied my shoelaces three times! Every time, I only noticed it when he was done. He did it deftly without ripping them to pieces. Our friends aren't young any more. I told them to teach the dog to *tie* shoelaces, too. Could be useful in old age. Now I'm wondering what quality I have that makes dogs come to me without my encouraging them. --- If you're interested in other animal stories, click on the green box above the title.