Blake's Take

By Clarissa Blake 8-18-26

Bravo the dog just turned three on Aug. 17. This is my dog who comes to work with me at the newspapers, puts in long hours at the office, and comes with me on most deliveries so our customers can receive their news and printing products in a timely manner. 

When I first moved back to Big Stone County to help my dad with the Northern Star and Ortonville Independent, I found a small house to live in and was living alone. My dad said, “You either need a dog or a gun.” I ended up deciding both were good options. I now have a Sig Sauer rose-gold handgun with flowers engraved on it, and my dog is a German Shorthair Pointer (GSP). If you don’t know Bravo, he is the face of our printing branch, Indy Prints. He receives plenty of attention from all his coworkers and greets customers with a toy or a ball dropped at their feet. Somehow, he continues to receive more toys and treats than any other dog I know, thanks to fellow community members, specifically the UPS man and the bank tellers in the drive-thru.

 The story behind Bravo is that he was auctioned off at the Big Stone County Delta Waterfowl banquet about three years ago at two months old. Nobody seemed to want his liver coat, which is solid brown in color. Event goers were bidding and competing against the spotted GSP, but nobody had much interest in the liver-colored one, other than my dad. Because I couldn’t attend, my dad sent me a photo of the two dogs and asked which one I wanted. Without hesitation, I wanted the solid brown. Two hundred dollars later and no competing bids, my dad said, “You have a new dog.” Ready or not, I had to figure out how to train a puppy, a very high-strung, energetic breed at that. 

 Boy, was my patience tested. There were two ripped up couches, a chair that eventually ended up in the dumpster, and several loaves of bread eaten right off the counter. Those were just a few of his puppy adventures. During the first year of Bravo’s life, he traveled with me to Sioux Falls, Aberdeen and Milbank hospital rooms and emergency rooms while my dad was going through health issues. Maybe I should have asked the nurses if I could bring a three month old puppy into the hospital, but I didn’t ask. I brought him in anyway. Of course, he was well liked by all the ladies. He even managed to put a smile on the face of a man sitting next to my dad while he was receiving treatment at the same time as my father. 

 Why is it that a wild, sometimes naughty, but lovable animal can make you stop and think about some of life’s most precious moments? Maybe it’s because dogs don’t worry about tomorrow. They don’t care how busy you are, how long your to-do list is or how many things went wrong that day. They don’t hold grudges. They just want to be next to you, play fetch, swim, hunt birds, and maybe get a treat. 

 Over the last three years, Bravo has been a little bit of everything. He has been my office dog, delivery companion, running partner, troublemaker, and sometimes my biggest distraction. He has also been there through some pretty difficult days with me. Sometimes life isn’t all that bad when you take a minute to stop, enjoy the moment and appreciate the four-legged companion standing beside you. If you’re not a dog person, maybe that companion is a friend, a sister, a spouse, or a parent. 

Happy birthday, Bravo.