“You do not want this dog.” I said, “Why not?” “He bites.” Good advice rarely makes a dent in my decision-making process. Of course I wanted a 70-pound biting poodle! Who wouldn’t? Henry had two other defects the shelter guru didn’t even know about. One of them resulted in my becoming a persona non grata driver to my closest friends. The third nearly destroyed my house. My travails and triumphs with Henry the giant poodle are part of a story of travails and triumphs with several beloved dogs over my long life. I laughed, I cried, I tore my hair. Now you can too.