Uncle Scary

My parents have an emotionally fragile dog who doesn’t deal well with new dogs being in his home—especially hyper in-your-face dogs like Buzz. When I visited last year, we ended up having to confine either Ned or Buzz at all times.

This year, my brother invited Buzz and I to stay with him so that there would be less worry and more freedom. My brother has two dogs, Castro and Sophie, who I will blog about later. First, though let me show you my baby brother.


He is, as my godmother says, a whoopensocker. He’s 6’5” and built like a linebacker. Because of this and because Buzz is full of quick energy and is always checking in with people, my brother started to play a game with Buzz…a game we dubbed "Uncle Scary."


To play Uncle Scary, my brother tightens up his body language, adopts a somewhat menacing expression, and directs all of his attention at Buzz.


In response, Buzz approaches him cautiously and somewhat nervously, taking care to show that he’s a submissive dog.






Then, Uncle Scary cracks and they have a hug and a little dance.




A couple of minutes later, the game starts over. Hilarious.