I recently interviewed a long-married couple and wrote about their meet cute at the first Super Bowl.
While talking to Pat and Joe Lintzenich, the topic of dogs came up. As anyone who has met me or follows me on Twitter knows, invoking this topic will provoke mom-bragging about my Frankie, aka the cutest dog ever.
The Lintzeniches had their own pup to brag about. Their story about their adopted pup Harry, who was 7 years old when they got him, didn't make the column, but it's worth sharing here for fellow dog lovers.
The Humane Society labeled Harry a "beagle mix," although DNA testing later that disputed that. It revealed that he is about half flat-coated retriever, Joe said. "The other 50 percent is a generous mix," he added.
Pat and Joe quickly learned that Harry had been well-trained by his previous owner. He understood many commands and when either of them mentioned "going outside" or any variation of the phrase, he reacted with the enthusiasm of a far younger pup — jumping, excited barking, running in circles. Every time.
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His enthusiasm was contagious, and his adopted sister, Sally, would also get worked up. Pat and Joe decided to start spelling out the word "o-u-t" when asking one another if they dogs needed to go.
This is when Harry suggested he might know how to read. At least he was able to decode that word pretty quickly.
They switched to saying it in Spanish. Within a week, Harry was bilingual. Or at least he picked up solid knowledge of the word "out" in Spanish.
So, they turned to French. Again within a week, Harry figured it out. His joie de vivre could not be contained.
The Lintzeniches were stumped. They've had at least 20 dogs prior to Harry. He's among the smartest pups they've ever seen. Eventually, Pat and Joe agreed to only speak of the outdoors in German.
Of course, this also turned out to be an uber fail.
Harry figured out what was up and reacted with his signature fervor. He is now an elder statesman at nearly 16 years old. That has not diminished his eagerness to explore the world.
However you choose to say it, he's clearly a very good boy.