The Gentle Beast

I was just sitting watching Brut and thought, I wish all of you could get to know him like I do.  He isn't the monster I once thought him to be so long ago.  Some may never get past his aggressive behaviors with other dogs and I understand that.  I used to be like that.  But one on one with someone he trust tends to break all those rules of what this awesome dog is like.

When I really take the time to get in tune with him and he feels safe and unguarded Brut is a spectacular being.  He has a very expressive face.  He can show you humor, disregard, or sarcasm with the quick switch of his facial muscles.  But it is Brut's eyes that set the stage.  Full to the brim with love, security and a burning torch that sets his face ablaze as each emotion flickers through.

And as I sit with this magnificent being on the floor as he wrestles my hand for more face rubs, I think of what that terrible trainer/behaviorist said to us about Brut's aggression;  we were just managing it.  As if to say that we should be changing the behavior.  But from what I've witnessed about Brut for the last six years isn't a behavior problem.  I honestly think he has some form of brain damage from before we picked him out.  The similarities between Blaze, Chance and Brut's attention span is short and their emotional growth is slow.  All of them have anxiety and fear that can sky rocket..  And I know for a fact that Blaze and Chance were hit and I know that Brut was too.  And I find myself constantly grouping these three together as they are set apart from the other three dogs.  Brut, Chance and Blaze are a little bit special in a familiar way that goes deeper than just being father and children.  For if anything Brut should relate more to Zappa and Fiona (the two pups we kept from the litter), but it is their siblings, Chance and Blaze who left and were returned to us abused that I see Brut relates to the most.

So while I get to see a different side of Brut than most, I appreciate the whole package he delivers.  He's taught me things no human could have done in my own recovery and for that we have each other's back.  He used to scare me quite a bit, I never knew what to expect from him and now we have found an understanding that lies between and within us.  And full blooded love.