Berger Lopez: hero

Guess who got a new charger for her DSLR camera? That's right, and you know what that means...more and better photos of the pups!


I think it's appropriate to take this opportunity to give Berger some props. Two weeks ago, Puggie found a space under a few pickets in the fence (that are completely hidden by a patch of thick shrubs) and she escaped. When we go inside and the dogs don't follow, we'll leave them out for a few more minutes and usually they come up on the porch on their own, which is a lot better for our sanity than calling and calling and calling and being ignored. So the fact that she didn't come in didn't really throw up a red flag.

When I went outside to call her again, I could hear her choking and I panicked. Our yard is a jungle - seriously. A jungle. So I wasn't even sure where to start searching. Before long, the choking stopped and I had no leads. That's when hero Berger stepped in. He started running this big circle around me and then between the shrubs and the fence, and back again and again. Every time he would pass me he would bark, then he would bark as he passed the fence. When Jose came out into the yard, Berger widened his circle to encompass Jose.

Nobody loves Berger more than me. And nobody loves a good Berger joke more than me. He constantly does things that would have you question his intelligence - he'll turn too fast and hit his snout on the wall or bark at sounds he hears on the TV. And in general, the look on his face says that the lights are on, but no one is home. Bright-eyed and clueless. We love him, but that's just the reality of Berger. So he's running this circuit and I asked Jose if he thought Berger was trying to point us in the direction of those shrubs. I almost laughed at the thought...but when I got down on the ground, I saw the open slot in the fence, and I knew.

I told Jose she had gotten out and he was able to run into the next yard and retrieve her. I was completely stressed out that she could have been gone, gone, gone...and amazingly impressed with Berger. So impressed. He has never done anything like that before, never exhibited those kinds of perception or communication skills.

I will never, ever make jokes about Berger again. He's a smart dog and a great brother to Puggie. I think his actions indicate that he cares about her (although Jose offered the alternative - that Berger was jealous that she could fit under the pickets, so he snitched). Either way, he saved Puggie and he got a series of delicious treats for the rest of the day.


Wherever I go, he goes...my buddy and me!