Dogs of Portland: Bourbon

It’s Friday morning, and by morning I mean 5:30 A.M.
The sun hasn’t yet risen over the western bank of the Willamette River. The Fields Park is shrouded in mist.
I grind Italian roast and glance out the window at the park and coffee shop below.
There he is, sitting resolutely at the door of Ovation Coffee & Tea, resigned human in tow. Bourbon. A canine fixture in the Pearl District, and the cutest, funniest, quirkiest English Bulldog you may ever meet.
He’s waiting for the coffee shop owner to open the door and give him his morning biscuit. And by wait, I mean he’s not budging a muscle or averting his gaze from the door until he gets that biscuit.
Later this same day, he plops himself on the boardwalk at nearby Tanner Springs Park and refuses to take another step. His human waits sheepishly beside him. This is not an uncommon occurrence.
I walk by and start a conversation. He decides to nibble my shoe as I talk.
And by nibble, I mean two long incisors penetrating all the way to my shocked toes. He looks forlorn when I object. Apparently I’m his new favorite chew toy.
If Bourbon could talk, he would say, “Why rush? There’s no better place to be than right here, right now.”
Name: Bourbon
Breed: English Bulldog
Gender: Male
Age: 2
Personality: Endearing, quirky, laid-back, determined
Fave Activity: Hanging out
Fave Hangout: Ovation Coffee & Tea