Yesterday Joyce and I were remembering, fondly, the many "shticks" of our dear departed poodle Charlie (his tendency to curve his body and dance around when happy, his love of "scratchy watchy"--a deep body massage) when we looked up to find Elmo, our sole surviving poodle, standing, shakily, on his back legs, being "talented"--as we like to call his sole identifiable applause-seeking routine.
Elmo knew we were praising his old, late friend, and he wanted to remind us that he, too, the living, deserved acclaim.
