Behind the Lines: by David Heiller

David Heiller When I come home from work, I am always greeted by our two dogs, Ida and MacKenzie. . They have different personalities. Ida, age seven, is part collie and part flugel-hound (a little bit of everything). And she is shy. If Ida were a teenage girl at a dance, she would try to blend in with the wallpaper. She probably wouldn’t dance if you asked her. Queen Ida, David, and MacKenzie. Mack, on the other hand, would be the life of the party. She would be doing the Mack-areena. She is a three-year-old Australian shepherd, friendly and playful, with a coat like silk. Her nickname is Happy. You couldn’t find two dogs more different than Mack and Ida. But they have one thing in common. They both are fun to talk to. That’s the subject I am getting at here: talking to your dog. It’s one of life’s simplest pleasures. When I get home from work, I often drop my briefcase and camera on the grass and lie down and let the dogs crowd around me. That’s when they are mo...