Bruce Cameron

Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2008.

While the young and single life is certainly exciting, eventually a man wants to settle down, to have someone there to greet him when he comes home, someone to love him and care for him always, which is why we have dogs.

When I was in my early 20s and decided to buy a dog, I carefully researched the most suitable breed by going to my neighbor’s house and picking a puppy from the litter in his garage. As it turned out, they were all huskies, a breed of dog about as easy to train as velociraptors. I named my puppy Chinook, and...