The Black Lab and the Plott Hound

These two seventy pound, studly boyfriends of mine are spending the week with us so that their family, our former neighbors, can visit their out-of-town kin.

It isn't easy for them because they have to put up with constant attention from Mr. F and our dog and they have to endure endless kissing and hugging from me. I can't help it. They are so handsome and sweet.

Their sense of privacy doesn't exist and they will follow you into the bathroom if you don't shut the door. They eat a ton and we're always shocked at how much they poop compared to our dog. Their male marking rituals could lay waste to all the perennials in the back garden.

The black Labrador Retriever, a slave to his breed instinct, is all about the ball-where it is, where it's going and when you're throwing it next. The Plott Hound is all about sniffing out small critters and chasing squirrels. They couldn't possibly be more different, yet they are devoted to each other.

Big dogs...what's not to love.