Brothers

It's funny to refer to them as brothers, given how disparate their breeds are. Yes, they are both "designer" dogs and Asian breeds: Chinese and Japanese, a funny coincidence that has no greater meaning in how or why I chose them. As my dry cleaner suggested, the historical antipathy between these two cultures would suggest a fractious household.

Indeed, when they were young, it was hard to tell what was fighting and what was playing. Oates had seemingly bottomless energy, much of which seemed focussed on annoying his extremely reserved and quiet "brother".

Oates' general neediness and love for everyone made me think his feelings for Willie were unrequited. But a few years ago, maybe the first time Oates was seriously sick and hospitalized, I saw the panic in Willie. He hated seeing Oates sick or gone. He'd run around the house looking for him. Once, his front paw was cut because he sat so anxiously immediately by the front door when I took Oates away to the vet.

In fact, I feel like Willie is more attached to Oates than the other way around. Oates rolls with anything and anyone, seemingly happy with whatever situation he's in. Willie is highly sensitive and thinks too much and needs consistency. Having Oates gone for any amount of time really throws him.

When I have my moment to scan through whatever pictures I've taken of them during the day for my posting, I'm always partial to ones where at least one of them is looking at the other.