He is a little sun dog, not in the astronomical sense of course, but in the sense of a very small creature yearning continually to feel the warming rays of the sun directly upon his skin. He seeks out the sun. In the winter months vainly searching for its decidedly weaker rays as he pads about the house with little success.

We have placed little beds for him at various points of the house where, with the spring sun warming the atmosphere inside and out, he can find places at certain times of day where the sun is at strength and soothing.

From the time he was a puppy, eleven years ago, it became quickly evident how much he hated being cold. Witnessing him shivering once the month of September arrived, we accustomed ourselves to dressing him in small warming shirts that mitigated the cold for him. As the season progressed into late fall and finally winter his little shirts became increasingly heavier and warmer to ensure his comfort.

Now that it's Spring, the irresistibility of the sun's presence draws him to ask continually to be allowed out on the deck, to sun himself. Even when the temperature hovers at the freezing mark. Somehow, the sun seems warm and comforting enough for him to ignore the cold surrounding him - at least for a little while...