There’s not a soul in the world that Brutus won’t walk up to and lick.
Reptiles, insects, kittens, it doesn’t matter. The pit bull wants to hurt no one, and he never meets a stranger.
“He just wants to be everyone’s friend,” says his mom, Amanda. “Sometimes the birds aren’t the biggest fans of this and he’ll get bit on the nose, but that doesn’t stop him. He’ll go right back and do it to them again.”
Seven years ago, Amanda, who works in our call center, was in search of finding a buddy for her lab, Evey. She connected with a woman online who rescued a dog from a bad situation not knowing she was pregnant and took this opportunity to surprise her husband, Bryan, with a puppy as he had never had one before. She texted him the woman’s address with no context – just that she had something he needed to pick up. Upon arrival, Bryan was greeted by 12 white puppies and instantly bonded with Brutus, who they soon learned was deaf.
“It didn’t take long for all of us to fall in love with Brutus, even Evey,” she says. “I truly believe that because of his bond with her, he turned out to be the happiest, most loving boy ever.”
Evey passed recently, but Brutus is not alone. He has another dog brother named Jackson, two cat brothers, Chunk and Nugget, and a houseful of turtles, tortoises, macaws and fish to cuddle with. It’s always been important to Amanda to socialize her pets so they each can roam freely around the house and coexist. Usually this would take some time, but for Brutus, it came naturally.
He had a particularly special friendship with Inego, Amanda’s bearded dragon, who has also passed. Wherever Inego went, Brutus was never far behind. Whenever he would come up to Brutus and kiss him on the nose, Brutus would kiss him back. The two would even nap together, Inego on his back, without a care in the world.
However, Brutus is as sweet as he is stubborn. He forces everyone to be friends with him regardless of whether the feeling isn’t mutual. And, although he’s a momma’s boy, Amanda admits that she doesn’t exist when a new face is around, even if that face is a tiny cricket.
One night, a cricket escaped from one of the reptile’s cages and Brutus, being the gentle giant he is, hunkered down into play position, barking and jumping back at the cricket all night.
“I cannot think of an animal that he has not wanted to get to know,” she says. “He truly loves all creatures big and small.”
That’s why it comes to no surprise that Brutus also takes on the role of foster dad when Amanda welcomes a new litter of puppies or kittens into their home. Just picture the 65-pound pitbull following three little Dachshund Chihuahua mixes around the yard or grooming a teeny-tiny kitten while the rest are climbing all over him like a jungle gym.
That’s just Brutus.
“He is goofy, playful, and oh-so loving,” Amanda says. “If dogs like Brutus can show love and compassion to other species, isn’t it time that humans did too?”
