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His name is Orso, which is Italian for "bear". I'm partially the reason he has the name he does...the shelter had been calling him "Bear" but bff's family already has a dog with that name (an adorable Bernadoodle). Bff is *very* Italian-American and very proud of her heritage...she had a dog named Bruno and her cat is named Grigio, which is Italian for "gray". So I suggested Orso, and bff loved it.

Orso is a gorgeous mutt. The shelter had him listed at one point as a "boxer/bulldog mix" (which is usually code for pit bull) and later changed it to "labrador mix". Bff's neighbor thinks Orso looks a lot like Scooby Doo--he has an orangish-brown coat--so they think he might be part great dane. He's a big dog for sure but he's more squat and muscular...my guess would be part rottweiler (he has a broad head with adorable forehead wrinkles like rotties often have) and part I have no clue. But he's 100% "good dog". He's estimated to be around 2 years old and is energetic without being destructive. Orso came tearing into the house, did a lap around the living room and then, much to my amusement (but not surprise), he ran to the small bedroom where Dad was reading and climbed partially into Dad's lap. Animals have always loved me but they absolutely adore Dad. I swear, if you put 99 people plus Dad in a room and set a dog free in that room, the dog (or cat) would make a beeline for him. Good thing Dad loves animals almost as much as they love him <g>.

I asked bff if Orso was allowed t-r-e-a-t-s and she said yes. Just before they got here, I heated up a hot dog*--an uncured, all beef hot dog at that--, cut it in chunks and left it in the microwave to stay somewhat warm

* weird thing is I've not had any hot dogs in the house in YEARS. For a while, I was getting the smart dogs (veggie version of hot dogs) and almost picked up another pack last week, but at the last moment, I pivoted and decided I wanted a "real" hot dog, so I got the "good" stuff. Well, relatively good, anyways.

Orso demonstrated how well he can sit, and he got "stay" on the second try, so he got a few snackies while here. He also gave me tons of sweet, slobbery doggie kisses and was content to eventually just lay on the floor (he splays his back legs out, which looks so silly) and let bff and me talk. I was initially questioning of bff's reason for getting another dog...she says it's for Grigio's sake. When Bruno died, Grigio grieved HARD. Bff got her rescue rottweiler Rosie, and Grigio accepted Rosie pretty quickly, but Rosie's a year older than Grigio and has a multitude of health issues (some linked to her years spent popping out puppies at an Amish puppy mill), so bff thinks Rosie will cross the rainbow bridge before Grigio, and bff wanted Grigio to have another animal in the house when that happens (Grigio doesn't like other cats though). Now I'm just glad bff got Orso...he's a good, GOOD doggie!