Billy Manners is sadly no longer with us after succumbing to scoliosis of the spine last year. We got him as a rescue dog when he was 18 months old, after he'd eaten more than $1000 worth of koi from his previous owner's fish pond.
During the time we had him, he developed into a true gentleman. He grew out of his "I don't like other dogs" staffie ways, and learned to open the sliding screen doors with his paw to come in or leave the house (though he never could see the sense in closing the door after he'd just gone to the trouble of opening it
).
He had a real sense of what a camera was all about. When taking photos of the kids on first day of school, for example, he would line up with them and pose in a very serious and dignified way to have his photo taken as well. Or running in the park, he would run past and watch you to make sure you were taking photos of him.
I miss him like a mate, but have so many fond memories. He was more human than a lot of people (and most people who knew him agree on that point!
).
Al.
