Carlo Devito - The Everything Dog Book: Learn to train and understand your furry best friend!

BENTLEY WAS THE answer to a sixth-grader's dreams. He was a confidant, a play pal, someone to talk to late at night. He was never judgmental, always loyal: someone who would definitely sneak downstairs with you for a late-night snack, and one who would fight for space on the bed with you covers and all. In short, he was my best friend. Bentley was a godsend who arrived at my door at what just happened to be three days before my twelfth birthday. Bentley was a Dalmatian.

He had an extremely square head for a Dalmatian and a deep, broad chest. And of course he had a tremendous number of spots. He had one large circle around his eye. My grandmother used to say to him, Bentley, you smudged your mascara again. With his red collar and wonderful, bouncy gait, he was what every child envisioned a Dalmatian to be. He loved attention, food, sleeping, and running.

My family and I have many great memories of Bentley. There was the Saturday when the entire family went food shopping and left him alone in one room. I can proudly say that he did not go to the bathroom while were gone at all. Instead, he rewarded us by tearing up the entire kitchen floor. Then there was the time we came home and the kitchen table looked like the Titanic going down to its watery grave he had gnawed one of the legs entirely off. There was also the time my parents were entertaining out-of-town clients: During the dinner, Bentley clawed his way into the pantry and ate a whole cake, as well as assorted pastries. I remember the shriek my mother gave when she found out. I flew down the stairs only to find her chasing the dog around the table, his face covered in chocolate. He thought it was a game.