Shalo And Poser

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My two dogs are littermates, which means they are about the same size and look a lot alike. But each is starting to show his own personality, as I have noticed this week. Last Friday, as I came home from work and opened my yard gate to bring in the trash can, it was a bit dark, so I heard one of my dogs growl in warning at what he thought might be an intruder.

As I opened the gate all the way, I saw Shalo in full guard-dog mode, growling, head lowered and legs set for possible charge. Behind him, maybe 15 feet behind him and off to one side, sat Kyle. Kyle looked very much like he had no plans to deal with an intruder, in fact I would describe him as a spectator.

Then Tuesday night, I woke up to hear a dog barking in my yard. I looked out and saw Shalo about a foot away from the fence, again in his best ‘don’t mess with me’ pose, barking in full voice at someone outside the fence, apparently down the street a way. Kyle was relaxing in the porch swing, watching Shalo. Then Kyle turned his head and noticed I was watching. At that moment he jumped out of the swing, ran alongside Shalo, adopted the same pose and began barking as if he was the same trustworthy guardian, just like his brother.

I had to laugh, but it reminds me that a lot of people are like that, and you can not be sure sometimes if someone you see is the real deal or a poser. Just something to remember in these days of high-profile images crafted by PR firms.