Lenore and Brutus, together

   Whose extraordinary friendship only deepens and sends my e-mail right through the roof. I was in Albany Sunday with Mary Kellogg at her poetry reading and everyone wanted to know about Lenore and Brutus. What did I think of it? How was Rose? How were the other sheep handling it?
  I wonder who could play Lenore and Brutus in the movie, or perhaps they could play themselves. These two continue to watch for one another, and ignore the anxiety and disapproval of Rose and of the other sheep. I’m not sure what to make of it myself. One thing an e-mailer suggested, which may well be true is that the Love Dog exudes so much intense affection that even other animals pick it up and respond to it. I have to credit the breeder, Gretchen Pinkel of Kee-Pin Labradors, Argyle, N.Y. for Lenore’s amazing temperament, and today, while watching these two, I wondered if the circumstances of her arrival had anything to do with it.
  Last winter was a challenging time for me, in many ways, and beyond that, it was a dark and brutally cold winter. Lenore lifted my spirits, say after day. I called her the Love Dog, The Light, The Hound of Love, and she responded perhaps to that need, and maybe this affection was reinforced in some way. Watching her charm the animals of Bedlam Farm – she routinely naps with her head on Rose’s back, something no other creature or human could get away with – and has won over the rooster, the goats, and the donkeys.
 Beyond that, Brutus is a gentle, odd sort of ram and looking at this in human terms, he almost seemed lonely. Not any more.
  I thought it was a riot at first, and I still do, but increasingly, I think there is something more meaningful going in, if that is possible. These two have all the earmarks of great friends, who look out for each other and bond in some way others can’t quite comprehend. Lenore is the Light.