I never had a dog growing up. In fact, I had a procession of cats who largely were indifferent to their humans’ coming and goings. But when my oldest son met my fiancée’s dog, Oso, I saw that there truly was something special about the bond between child and canine. There’s something in their shared innocence, their lack of cynicism and their attraction to wonder. Justin’s relationship with Oso was stunted, unfortunately, by his split-home situation as well as his mom’s adoption of another dog he sees more often than little Osito. But then Diego came along and the potential I saw between my oldest child and this tiny little dog was fulfilled a million times over. Diego and Oso are like brothers... I know I have mentioned this before but it bears repeating because each is a huge part of the other’s every day. Today I watched them play, Diego tossing a ball, Oso chasing and grabbing it, Diego following him around trying to get it back for another round. There’s love in their play, such genuine affection that dates all the way back to when they first met when Diego was only a few days old, and it manifests with the enthusiastic greeting Oso gives Diego when he comes home every day. Oso still loves my oldest son too; that connection I first saw years ago still alight now and again in tender moments on Saturday or Sunday mornings, when the house is filled with jazz, sunlight and laughter. But with Diego, Oso shares countless special moments each day, whether it’s threading between our legs during a morning kitchen dance party, stealing one of the boy’s toys for his own play or, like I captured here, riding along with Diego in his favorite wagon after a fun walk in the fields behind our house. This life is so rich with love, and the affection shared between this boy and his dog is a big part of it.
