My Dog Huck: International Superstar

Talk about universal appeal: My dog Huck has it. This week an elderly couple from Russia (guessing from their accents) praised the pooch. The little Iranian boy who picks trash with his grandfather every week took a break from his chores when he saw us walking up Tujunga Avenue and cheeped "I like your dog." He's a neighborhood fixture. It's the first time I've seen him smile. The Mexican construction workers eating breakfast burritos in front of a taco truck paused as we (he) strolled by and nodded their heads in approval. The haggard Ukranian nanny in the purple leisure suit and bloodshot eyes tells the baby in her carriage "doggie, hi doggie, bye bye doggie!"

Huck was a scrawny, paranoid desert runaway when Marla and I first found him in San Dimas, California.

Now he's the perfect gentleman. Our very own Oliver Twist.