The Wandering Monkey

Bentley is about 6 years old. He's a mix of corgie and basset hound, we think. He's very smart. He came from one of my cousin's old girlfriends who left him here, so no one's sure exactly his breed or how old he is. He's short of short and long, and he can run extremely fast.

I am pretty sure Bentley is taking to me. He always is happy to see me, and he follows me around everyone I go, unless he's sleeping. He'll never eat my food without permission, and if several people call him, he will always come to me. I take care of Bentley by taking him to the dog park, scratching him. I never yell at him or hit him. To discipline him, I tell him to come over to me. He usually knows he's done something wrong, so he's very hesistant to come to me. But I keep on telling him to come, and he does. Then, I tell him he's been bad and tap my finger on his nose. This seems to work. He gets the point.

Bentley has been through as many homes as I have in the past seven years, probably. He's got a lot of issues. When we are at the dog park, the other dog Dave will go around and run and play with the other dogs. Bentley will almost always just stay by my side. If I run or throw the ball, he'll run with me or fetch it back to me. But he doesn't like to mingle so much with the dogs. Likewise, Bentley does not mix well with the other dogs in the house. He always wants all the attention. If I'm petting Bentley and Dave comes by, Bentley will growl at him.

Bentley also does not like the new puppy, not at all. (Bentley just came up to me to visit). The new puppy is always jumping around, biting his tail or something. Bentley outright growls at him. They don't mix well at all.

Bentley is also very vigilant. If anyone comes over or even drives by the house, Bentley will start barking like crazy. If anyone enters the house, he'll do the same. There's no calming him. I'm working on it.

In all, I think Bentley is looking for an owner, or master, or whatever you call it. I think he wants me to be his new master. I would, too, if I had some place to take him! I'm on the road myself. Bentley would be a good road dog. He's the kind of dog who would drive with you all over the country and sit in the passenger seat. He's well housebroken and very loyal. Maybe I'll take a road trip with him, I don't know. Probably not.

If I do end up in a situation where I could keep a dog, I would take Bentley with me. I think he should be OK here in the meanwhile. I've even thought of taking Bentley with me to China. He'd be a good companion. But, as I've been warned, I would need to make sure I never left him alone, for fear of someone making lunch out of him.

In other news, I had three cavities filled today.
-J