Hi Brandon,

Thanks for weighing in here with your thoughts too! Yes, the others did have really good advice on this. I tried to take Stan's advice and give the dog a background story. In one of my attempts, I had that he'd once saved a drowning boy from the pond and now he was kind of a local hero. But...it just felt too unreal for a character that is real!
I've posted a rewrite, but as I've mentioned to everyone...I'm still working it!

Thanks!
Lisa