The Grouchy Puppy motto is "give fearlessly and influence positively" and comes from my own amazing experiences with dogs. The working dogs of my childhood were the first to teach me to believe in the human-animal bond. My adopted large blended dog from the San Francisco SPCA has continued what they started, with her devotion and influence. Dogs have shown me how they all fearlessly give of themselves and positively influence us humans -- asking for so little in return. The human-animal bond is real and it's spectacular.

Proving that the human-animal bond is alive in our military, is Maria Goodavage's new book Soldier Dogs: The Untold Story of America’s Canine Heroes. She had me nodding my head with each story about these amazing military working dogs [MWD] and their handlers. The MWD demonstrate in a military setting: they know good people when they smell them, and they'll let you train them to do any task - if they trust you.

Lars, the Jack Russell Terrier being handed down into a submarine to do his duty as a sniffer dog.   Photo credit: US Navy Photo by Petty Officer Second Class Paul D. Williams