Still one of my fondest memories of Otis, our black lab mix. He was still just a pup, and seemed to feel a connection with the black Angus cows on our farm. At the time, he was just a pup and he had an ear of corn in his mouth too.

He grew up to be quite a beefy boy, with a giant head, no neck, short legs, and a body as wide as a propane tank. He was an oaf of a boy, and could look so intimidating, but the minute you'd walk up to him, he'd flop onto his back and beg for a tummy scrub. 

He used to love to go out choring with Tim and his dad, and sneak mouthfuls of corn feed that was meant for the cattle. He loved our Chocolate lab Chloey, even though she was the biggest diva doggy in the state of Iowa! She was so mean to him! But he would always comfort her by licking her ears and she loved him for that. 

Otis, a/k/a: Burger Boy, Beeferino, Ody Pagody, also loved to find stinky things on the farm....cowpies, dead things, mud, you name it, and he would roll in it, eat it, and then wait until you had on a pair of white dress pants. He'd wait till Sunday morning, when you were rushing out the door to get to church on time, and choose that very moment, when you are trying to lock the door, to rub his face against those crisp white clean pants. Just enough that you'd get a little brown streak on your thigh, perfumed with the fragrance of " Eau du barnyard poopoo" .

I would be so mad at him, but I couldn't stay that way for long. He thought he was sharing a treasure with me, and he was so proud of his work and his stinky body perfume! 

 We still talk about Otis and Chloey, as if they are still present, even though it's been years since they crossed that rainbow bridge. They were and still are part of our family.