My Five Dogs & Their Signs

Erwitt turns 9 on April 11, and in keeping with our Aries energy (mine and his), I'm not doing anything subtle about it.

This newsletter is dedicated to him and his four siblings, because I was looking at their birth dates recently and realized their zodiac signs are almost uncomfortably accurate. I say "almost" because I've always been a little skeptical of astrology. But then I thought about Hudson following Fleetwood around the yard after their fight, just wanting to be near him, still adoring him, and I thought: okay fine, maybe the stars are onto something.

Let's go through them.

Erwitt, Aries ♈ (April 11)

The pioneer. The first one to the door, first to patrol the yard, first to decide something is worth paying attention to. Aries charges in before anyone else determines if it's safe. That is Erwitt completely. What people miss about Aries is that the courage and the warmth aren't opposites. In Erwitt, they're the same thing. He runs the perimeter and then comes back inside to be a total love bug.

He's also my sign. Which probably explains why we understand each other so well.

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Hudson, Pisces ♓ (February 28)

Pisces is the most emotionally open sign in the zodiac. Sensitive, intuitive, the kind of soul that doesn't hold grudges because they're too busy adoring you. Hudson is exactly this. He and Fleetwood got into a real fight, the kind that leaves a mark, and Hudson still follows him around the yard. Still wants to know what Fleetwood is doing. Still wants to be near him. There is no resentment in Hudson. Just love and a whole lot of curiosity about his brother.

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Prayerie, Cancer ♋ (June 21)

Born on the very first day of Cancer season, and she lives up to every bit of it. Cancer is the nurturer, the protector of home and family, loyal, watchful, deeply aware. Prayerie was my first female AKC champion and the first champion I bred myself. She was an incredible mother to her puppies. She still guards the house with focused attention that makes Erwitt look casual by comparison. She knows when to step in and when to hold back. That's not just instinct, that's intelligence.

She also will not pee in the rain. I respect it completely.

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Fleetwood, Aquarius ♒ (February 8)

If you follow me on LinkedIn or Happy Aire, you already know Fleetwood. He resists easy description because the moment you think you have him figured out, he does something unexpected and strangely brilliant. Aquarius is the sign of the original thinker, independent, unconventional, quietly ahead of everyone else. Fleetwood has never once done anything the predictable way. He's not difficult, he's just entirely himself.

And his sense of self is unlike any dog I've had in 50 years of Airedales.

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Daisy, Gemini ♊ (June 3)

Daisy is twenty months old and carries herself like she has been here before. As a puppy she was already composed, calm in situations that would rattle older dogs, steady on the show circuit in a way that made people do a double-take. Gemini’s get a bad reputation for being two-faced, but the real quality of the sign is adaptability: the ability to meet any situation on its own terms.

Daisy has this completely. She goes with the flow, she has fun, and she shows affection in a way that is entirely her own. Not flashy or showy…  just hers.

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I've had Airedales for 50 years and their individual personalities never stop surprising me. These five are proof that every dog is a whole world.

Happy birthday to my Aries brother, Erwitt. We see you.

-Kim Opdyke

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