New relative.

I had no idea I had a brother, but apparently I'm related to this guy.  It seems that Elle's father also has a friend.  His name is Semper.

Me and my "dad"... Semper.

So, by extension, I think he'd be a brother.  Wait a minute.  Maybe he's actually my father?  I mean, if he's paired up with Elle's father, and Elle's father is her father, then that would make Semper my father.  Weird.  I mean, I've never met my father, but Semper, er Dad, wasn't what I pictured in my mind.

I guess I dreamed about the day I'd meet him.  Dear old dad.  You know, like one of those bad movies where an orphaned kid finds out that he was left because of liquor or other companionship (female K-9s).  Maybe my dad was roaming the streets, maybe with one of those collars with the pointed studs on them.  A real tough guy.  Like this guy.

The dad I always wanted.

Tough.  Rugged.  Snow covered.  Searching for his long lost son.  I guess I wasn't expecting a happy-go-lucky Yellow Labrador.

Some random dog that looked like "dad."

To his credit, Semper, er Dad, has been hit by two or three cars, and I'm sure he's fathered hundreds of thousands of puppies halfway across northern Illinois.  But, you know, part of me is disappointed that I don't look more like him.  It reminds me that maybe I'm just a random accident of fate, birthed on the side of some road.  A chance life form who happened to wander into someone's yard to get picked up and put up for adoption.  Because, that is what I am.  An adoption.  I still have worth, though.  Even if Dad, er... OK.  Semper isn't really my father.  I'm loved, as far as I know.  And others out there are far worse off.