my dog, the prepper

he's just looking out for me

ever ready

One of the ways you can tell that humans and dogs have been shaping each other’s personalities for thousands of years is that dogs can get into this pattern where if there’s something they really, really like—like a treat, or a toy—being given one will cause them to become so anxious they basically can’t function. They will just pace around with their beloved object whining at a high pitch or they will try to hide it.

I had never personally observed this behavior until I got my own dog, Boswell, pictured above.¹ Other dogs I have known were crazy in their own way, but their relationship to their desires was basically straightforward: if you liked something, you wanted it; if you got it, you chewed on it; when it was gone or destroyed, you asked for more of it. If it was denied you, you schemed. And perhaps learned how to open doors.²

Boswell is a perfect dog and if you even imply otherwise I’ll beat you over the head with a heavy object until your brain works right. However, he …