The Dog Who Doesn’t Care What You Think

My dog Napoleon has no balls and a debilitating underbite, and he’s still a ten.

That’s not my assessment alone. Anyone who meets him tends to agree. He struts around like he’s the best-looking dog in the county. The underbite doesn’t bother him. As far as he’s concerned, he’s perfect.

Dogs have a quality that people spend entire lifetimes trying to develop. They are completely uninterested in their own perceived flaws. The dog does not sit around worrying about what he used to have or what he doesn’t have anymore. He doesn’t compare himself to the neighbor’s dog. He’s not replaying mistakes from ten years ago.

Napoleon

He wakes up in the morning ready to run across the yard like he owns the place.

Watching him trot around out there, chest out, ears up, you’d never guess anything was “wrong” with him. The underbite gives him character. The rest of it is ancient history.

Hard to argue with that kind of confidence.

— Mark Edgington

This article also appears on Medium where you can learn more about Mark Edgington’s ongoing work.