A Family Portrait

My parents have a Deutch Drahthaar.  That's a real thing.  A dog, in fact.  Close cousin to the German Wirehair, but more everything.  Bigger, smarter, more athletic...  It's like having a ninety pound two-year-old in the house.  Drew is a working dog, and up until recently, he's been unemployed.

See, Drahthaars are hunting dogs, and that's what my dad wanted to do with Drew.  However, Drew has seasonal alopecia.  The leaves fall off trees, all the hair falls off Drew's sides.  He'd scrape the bejeezus out of himself if he went hunting.  Fortunately, my dad is a problem solver.

Last weekend, Dad showcased the new job he'd gotten for Drew:



Clockwise from the top:  The Brother-in-Law, Drew, Dad, My Sister the Lawyer, Me, Prada

That's a repurposed Radio Flyer, y'all.  And Drew is pulling me.  Actually, this is when we first started out.  About ten seconds after this picture was taken, Dad handed me the reins, and Drew took off running.  Just imagine it:  bouncing along in a Radio Flyer after a dog, going about fifteen miles an hour.  That's way faster than I can bike.



This is when everybody finally caught up with us, a half mile down the road.

 Drew isn't tired here.  He's just distracted by some birds.  In case you think this is all Drew is capable of:

See that sweater Drew is wearing?  I totally made that.

The neighbors think my family is crazy.  Clearly, though, my family is just crazy-cool.

(True:  That first picture is taken on the main street of my hometown.  I did mention I'm from the boonies, right?)

Dora approves of creative solutions.