There's something about a rottweiler

This is Stonewall. He stayed with us for the past several days while his mom went to visit family out of state. Stoney is a former foster, although I didn't have him for long. He reminds me a lot of our late Jack. There's just something about rotties. They are smart, stubborn, hard-headed. They are opinionated free-thinkers, and they are extremely expressive. They aren't generally vocal like shepherds, but they use a combination of gestures and facial expressions that leave no doubt about what they think and what they want. But the true genius of the rottweiler breed, I think, is their ability to mold their life, their home, their owner, to suit their own needs.

Stoney loves attention even more than he loves food. His owner is as devoted to him as he is to her. They are rarely apart and that suits him just fine. When she does have to go away, he stays here with us. While it's not the one-on-one attention he gets at home, he is never alone here and he may enjoy the canine company here too. Stoney communicates in his own unique, rottweiler-like manner. He snorts and stomps his feet. It's as if he learned animal to human communication skills from watching re-runs of "Mr. Ed" on cable.

Stoney prefers to chart his own course, which means he doesn't come worth a damn and he isn't very amenable to friendly persuasion either. To make things easier, we leave his harness on him when he visits and clip on a leash for the short walk out to the dog yard and pasture. With the harness and leash, he's easy to handle, without them, he's next to impossible.

Stoney is always full of smiles and he sleeps next to my bed at night in the spot that has become Emmylou's. She was a little concerned about that at first, but quickly adapted, realizing that rottweilers are next to unmanageable and it's best to just let them be. When we made the trip back into Charlottesville this afternoon to meet his mom, he knew where we were going and got really excited when we pulled into the parking lot. He immediately hopped into her car and assumed his position in the back seat. I'm sure she hasn't been out of his sight since they got home.