Friendship is something that is fleeting. True friendship, lasting friendship, is a precious element. Our bear dog found it with a tiny piece of gold. Gold with fangs and puppy breath. This is the start of the Bunsen and Beaker story. Bunsen, our Bernese Mountain Dog, is a special guy. He came into our life when we needed something to heal our broken hearts and asked for nothing but our love back in return. Three years passed and I’m not sure how I felt that he was lonely, but I felt it. After I convinced my wife that a second dog was among my better ideas I’ve had in a while, it wasn’t long and a tiny Golden Retriever joined our family. The meeting of the two happened outside our house as experts suggested finding neutral ground for the first meeting. We called the east yard Switzerland because of this to this day. Bunsen was CURIOUS about the tiny floppy thing and padded over to sniff her out. It was at this point I fully realized how HUGE Bunsen was compared to the tiny puppy. Beaker was the smallest puppy of the litter and as our Bernese Mountain Dog stood over her he blocked out the sun. His paw was about the size of her whole head. We held our breath, but all Bunsen wanted to do was look at her and sniff her, and the puppy was content to frolic around in the grass and chase bugs. We moved inside and Beaker timidly explored her new surroundings. At this point I’m sure Bunsen knew things were changing. Bunsen looked at the puppy, then at Kris or I, then back to the puppy as if to say, “Are you serious? Is this tiny bendy noodle thing staying?” That was the first day. Nothing exceptional, but that was about to change. In the morning we carefully allowed Bunsen and Beaker to interact with each other, but up until this point Beaker really wasn’t interested in Bunsen. A switch clicked inside the tiny puppies head. I’m not sure what it was. Maybe it was labelled CRAZY TOWN POPULATION BEAKER. We will never know. At any rate, that switch made it so Beaker couldn’t get enough of Bunsen. She followed him. Charged at him and tried to tackle him. She would bite and hang onto his fur like an adorable parasite. To our surprise, Bunsen TOOK everything that little shark could dish out. He was like a hairy, patient punching bag. Merciless biting. Sneak attacks. She went under him and I’m sure nipped his penis one time. None of this turned Bunsen off. In fact, he relished in it. Where Beaker went, Bunsen went as the safety officer to see what she was doing. Where Bunsen went, Beaker followed for unknown Beaker reasons, maybe to see if he tasted different in different rooms. Bunsen was exceptionally gentle with her. She would bring him a toy and he would play tug with her, but always let her win. If she wanted a toy he had, he gave it up to her. Oh, it made our hearts full. I remember tears streaming down my face from watching them interact. Bunsen was just so gentle and amazing. A glint formed in Bunsen’s eye when he played with the puppy. It was the same glint he got when he had mooseleg. It was joy. The days passed and it became clear that Bunsen loved Beaker. The bear watched over her like a doting mother and continued to put up with her violent nonsense long after the humans of the house had lost their patience. Bunsen suddenly had a companion, and as that puppy aged, she grew into a loyal friend that followed him up mountains, across blowing snow, always toward the setting sun. A true friend believes in you and accepts you for who you are. Bunsen BELIEVED that annoying and savage puppy would mature into something special. He was right. He accepted her the first day. It's hard to imagine Beaker without her Bunsen. It's even harder to imagine Bunsen without his Beaker. #dogs