Brodie isn’t really sure how it happened. One minute, he was chasing squirrels around the backyard, pausing only to nap on his favorite corner of the couch. Then a revolving door of yappy, nippy, clingy foster puppies thrust themselves into his predictable world, impolitely snatching his toys, his mom’s attention—and that same spot on the couch.
Brodie is my family’s brilliant and tolerant ten-year-old border collie mix. His bedhead ears, tufted at all angles, make him look perennially rumpled. He also has a spectacularly curved, intricately fringed tail that just so happens to be perfectly positioned for teething puppies to yank and not let go.
As of this writing, Brodie has served as a reluctant foster brother to eighty-two of those puppies, coaching them through potty training, house manners, and…
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Garden & Gun (Digital) - 1 Issue, April/May 2025