Nature teaches beasts to know their friends. – William Shakespeare Coriolanus, Act II, Scene 1 It was nearing the noon hour when one of my coworkers — we’ll call her Alice — asked me if I wanted to see her dogs. “Bub’s outside with them. He came to pick me up and brought them along.,” she said. I’ve seen photos and heard many lively tales of Alice’s dogs but have never met them in the flesh, so I quickly said, “Sure!” and followed her out the back entrance to the parking lot. Walking behind her, I was thinking of her boyfriend, Bub. Alice is several years younger than me and…