Ode to My Beloved Bentley

I love my dog! I always knew Bentley was a smart dog, but I never truly appreciated just how smart he is. I guess now that I have something to compare him to it’s very evident how brilliant my little pooch really is. I don’t mean to knock Peanut (OK, maybe I do – a little). Peanut is among the cutest little buggers in the world. And it’s a good thing she’s so cute. It makes up for her complete lack of brains. I’m pretty sure that she has the intelligence of a flea. I can blog all day about how stupid she is, but that’s not the point of this entry. This is all about Bentley — our smart dog.

Tonight Karlo called from the road. As soon as I start talking about the dogs over the phone, Bentley knows I’m talking about him. He stares intently and groans. I told him it was “Daddy” on the phone and, embarrassingly enough, even let Karlo “talk” to Bentley. He gets all excited when he hears “Daddy’s” voice on the other side of the phone. There is no doubt he completely understands what the phone is all about. Let’s not forget that Bentley howls up a storm every time the phone rings. He knows the phone is important and wants to alert us that it’s ringing.

Not only did I talk to Karlo on the phone tonight, but I also talked to my father (yes, very busy phone night for me!) This time when I hung up the phone I told Bentley “That was Grandpa.” Well, when Bentley heard that world “GRANDA” he went crazy. First he ran to the kitchen door with his ears up and crying. Then he ran to the front door, ears up and crying. There was no convincing him that Grandpa wasn’t really coming to visit us . . . he was just on the phone. Maybe Bentley thinks that only Karlo is on the other side of the magic phone. The poor dog . . . he cried non-stop for 20 minutes. I never saw a K9 miss a human as much as Bentley misses his Granpda. Sorry Karlo, but I never saw Bentley get this excited when I tell him “Daddy’s coming home.”

Dad, I have to get you and Bentley together soon. The poor little guy really misses you!