El Famoso.

"El Famoso" means just what it looks like... The Famous.

Around the CAVU world here in Costa Rica, El Famoso is Bruno... the dog who has survived a 40 foot fall from a waterfall, the dog who chases away howler monkeys, the dog who the airport employees know and thus wave us in at the security gate, the dog who travels in small planes, big cars, on foot, in boats, by roads unpaved and well-traveled, the dog who sleeps "wheels up," as pictured above. (Hey, Bruno travels by plane. He knows what "wheels up" means, and when he sleeps, it's time for ultimate relaxation.)

Bruno is like Megan and Ryan's Marcus, or my old Bridger, or Molly's Missy; Bruno is about one incarnation away from being a person. He wouldn't surprise me if he talked one morning. If I came back to the office after lunch and Bruno was sitting in the yard with a shotgun, tipping his hat to me as he scoped the birds, I'd think, "Yeah. That's about right."

Bruno trusts the world so much, he sleeps on his back, with his paws in the air, silently snoozing away. How can you not love a creature that knows, deeply, in his sleep even, that the world is a trusting, loving, supportive place?

He's never happier than when he's with the bus. That is: the car. If he's near the bus, he knows he won't miss a trip to the supermercado, a restaurante, the teatro, just a drive, or, of course, to his office: the airport. If he's near the bus, Bruno is happy - because he's with the party, he won't get left behind!

And the best, best part. Bruno has a girlfriend. Her name is Chile Reina... Hot Queen. She is about eight pounds, and she Puts. Him. In. His. Place. It rocks. She makes him earn it and after all, isn't that what El Famoso really wants?