Tonight, a touching thing for me to see, and I guess a surprising thing, although it shouldn’t be. We spotted Bud suddenly limping badly in the fenced in yard where he and Fate play.

He was clearly in extreme pain, yelping and licking his foot and spinning around almost in a panic.

He was extraordinarily sensitive to being touched, we both had to hold him down firmly on the dining room table to look at his leg. Something – a piece of glass or metal – seemed to have gotten stuck but when we felt the leg, we think it came out.

Bud limped for a bit and took a snack, but was still in some pain. We planned to watch him tonight and take him to the vet in the morning, he looked miserable.

Suddenly, I couldn’t find him. I looked around the downstairs, then went into my study where Red often sleeps. It was dark.  I turned on the desk light, and there was Bud, curled up right next to Red, his legs resting on Red’s legs. Red’s bed is under a long wooden table, I couldn’t see them at first.

Red was very still and let Bud lean into him, his head on Red’s paws. From time to time, Red leaned over and licked Bud’s leg, just where Bud had been licking it. As you know, I don’t ever pretend to know what is going on inside of the mind of a dog, they are alien creatures, not furry versions of us.

But there was no doubt in my mind that Bud had gone to Red to be consoled, or that Red was doing just that. Red is just an angel inhabiting the body of a dog. Bud is walking normally now, and does not seem to be in pain.

Red is very important to Bud, Red’s presence her has given  him an anchor in his life I don’t think he ever had.

Red is a sweet and generous soul, but I had never seen him do that before, or be asked. He has the biggest heart.