Dogs come with as many different personalities as people.  Not to mention the shapes, sizes and hair types of the many different breeds.  I have met more dogs than I can count and each one was as different as night and day.
    There were my family’s dogs, Rusty, Winston, Lucy and Waggs.  All but Lucy looked a little alike.  Black hair, medium to large in size, with basically the same shaped snout.
    Rusty was nervous about everything.  At the sound of fireworks in the distance she tore a hole in the bathroom rug trying to dig under it to hide.  A thunderstorm would make all eighty pounds of her stand atop your lap shaking.  But I loved her dearly anyway.
    Winston was not bothered by anything.  He was calm, cool and collected, even with young children riding his back like a horse.  He could be counted on for anything, and had a sweet tooth for birthday cake.
    Waggs, although my current dog and best friend, is quite barkative, occasionally growls at people she knows and

is obsessed with food.  She can be quite a pain, but we love her even with her faults; even though sometimes we need to lock her out of the kitchen while we eat.
    Lucy was the only golden dog I remember having since I was old enough to remember the dogs.  She was loyal to a fault, drooled all over but she left you alone when you ate.  She loved to walk and play ball.  She used to go through the trash when she was   young and we went out for a few hours at a time.
    They were or still are some of the coolest “people’ I have ever met.  But each one stands out in my mind like a completely different creature.
    Even dogs that I have met on my travels, family and friend’s pets there are more differences in personality than you would first expect.  Like people they like different foods.  Some are grumpy in the morning and some like to sleep until 9 a.m.
    Some like children yet others would like to avoid them at all costs.  So when you are talking to your dog about not eating the cat while you are gone just think that it’s a lot like talking to your great-uncle Hansel.