The Eastern Setter

Ol’ Wylie is pretty much the neighborhood rock star. When we go out for our regular after-work walk, the neighborhood kids frequently flock to his side. The kids inevitably want to pet Wylie, and many remark on how soft his hair is. (He uses shampoo with extra-conditioner.)
One of the most frequent questions the kids ask me is what kind of dog Wylie is. They’re never satisfied with “I don’t know” so I’ve tried variations such as “Black” or “He’s a Wylie.” None of those work either. Some Wylie-historians claim that Wylie is an Irish Police Dog from Scotland Yard, but Wylie insists that this is a gross exaggeration and he only ever worked with a small constabulary on the outskirts of Dublin.
So far though, Wylie hasn’t been willing to discuss his origins. Until now.
Earlier this week, Wylie and I were talking about the problem with the kids not accepting any of the standard answers. He admitted that it always bothered him to be putting me on the spot like that, so he’s decided to share his secret with the world:
Wylie is an Eastern Setter.
For those unfamiliar with the particulars of this breed, the Eastern Setter is native to North America with a range covering the mid-Atlantic states, going North into New England and as far West as Indiana.
Here we see the Eastern Setter in his natural environment — setting on the couch.
Wylie, setting on the couch.
Likewise, here we see the Eastern Setter in another of his favorite settings — setting on the deck, getting his back skritched by a pretty girl.
Wylie, setting on the deck, with a lovely pirate girl.
And again, the Eastern Setter, setting on the couch, getting his back skritched by two more pretty girls. (It’s truly a dog’s life!)
Wylie on the couch with two more pretty girls.

4 thoughts on “The Eastern Setter”

  1. He sure is living the life! A real Casanova! It appears he may be in cohoots (I have no clue how to spell that) with pirates as well. Wylie has taken this mid-life crisis thing a bit far hasn’t he? 🙂

  2. You could test Wylie to see if he is truly an Eastern Setter. Though there is always the possibility, as with any genetic test, that you might find out that there were “bad dogs” in Wylie’s family tree. I’m sure this is unlikely though.
    http://www.dog-dna.com/
    (This is just one site of several, and I haven’t compared them in any fashion.)

  3. @Rhonda — Crisis? What crisis? Wylie seems to be enjoying every moment of it! Hardly a crisis at all.
    @John — That site has a list of breeds they can test for, Eastern Setter isn’t one of them. Of course, this doesn’t really surprise me since, as far as I’m aware, Wylie is the world’s only Eastern Setter. (He’s definitely one of a kind.)
    He has however spent his entire life on the East Coast, and positively loves setting on the couch.

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