FIRE PUG

Whenever kids see brother Dutch they always yell Fire Dog! Fire Dog!

This totally used to freak me out because I thought one of us was about to go up in flames or something. Then yesterday I met a fireman and he explained what the whole Fire Dog thing is all about.

So... waaay back before there were cars, dalmatians like Dutch used to run with these horse-drawn things called coaches. Rich people (technical term: aristocrats) liked how cool the spotted dogs looked running next to their coaches and used dalmatians to protect their horses and luggage from getting stolen (this makes me laugh because Dutch is a total wimp and couldn't guard his own shadow).

Anyway. Firetrucks also used to be pulled by horses and since dalmatians were so good at hanging out and running with horses, they ran with the firetrucks too. When the firemen were busy putting out a fire, dalmatians stayed with the firetrucks to keep the horses safe and calm.

Hearing all this made me a lit-tle bit jealous of the spotted dogs, with all their protecting and firefighting and stuff. People see Dutch and think he's a hero. They see me and think I'm an alien. Dutch is made to run 20 miles and protect valuables. I am made to, what, sit on laps and look cute?

Honestly, this got me feeling a little inferior. Especially when the firemen asked Dutch to pose for pictures on their truck. Hellllooo! I am the camera-dog. I am the ham. But when they were done taking Dutch's picture, they let me sit on the firetruck. And it was really cool and everything... but really not all that comfortable. And it's kinda hard to look cute when you're standing on metal, trying to act like you could protect something.

The firemen laughed at the idea of a Fire Pug and that's OK by me. Dutch can have the firetruck. I'm going to stick with what I was made to be good at: warm, comfy laps and looking cute.