A very good doggo who has amassed quite the impressive stick collection is eager for the entire world to give it the appreciation it so clearly deserves, and his human is more than happy to make that happen for him.
As The Dodo reported, Bruce, a 4-year-old golden retriever, has an affinity for collecting the most perfect sticks possible, and there’s nothing he loves more than showing them off.
It all began two years ago after an accident with a stick saw the poor pup end up in the hospital.
Now as a safety precaution he’s only allowed to play with rubber toys, but that seems to have only made his love for sticks even stronger.
“Despite his injury, his love for sticks was not tarnished, but instead it has only grown into a beautiful collection,” Leo Icenhour, his dog-dad, told The Dodo .
Bruce didn’t actually start collecting the sticks until one tragic, snowy night when his absolute favorite was buried deep under a layer of snow.
Naturally, the doggo was positively heartbroken when he woke up to find his beloved twig was nowhere to be found.
“The next day, Bruce was in an utter panic because he obviously couldn’t find his stick or even see the ground,” Leo recalled.
After a tireless search which saw Bruce dig up multiple holes and shove his head into the snow, the dog had to come to sad realization that his stick was gone.
That is, until the weather began to warm up again, and a downright miracle occured.
“After the snow partially melted, he was able to finally dig around and find his stick,” Leo said . “I’ve never seen him more triumphant than that moment.”
He added, “I believe he started the collection because he never wants to feel the panic of being stick-less again.”
Now Bruce is beyond fond of his collection, and he’s also understandably quite protective of each piece, too.
“He prides himself in collecting sticks of all shapes and sizes from our backyard and plants them right in front of our front door, checking on them daily when we go in and out of the house,” Leo said.
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Clearly he’s trying to avoid another devastating stick eaten up by snow situation.
Although he’s not allowed to bring his sticks inside to display on the mantle, as I’m sure he’d love to do, Bruce does try to sneak one or two in whenever he can.
But it doesn’t really matter where his impressive collection is kept, so long as all his beloved sticks stay where he can find them and appreciate them. And show them off, of course.
“He just likes to add to his collection,” Leo said. “[He] is very proud of it.”
Make sure to check out Leo’s Instagram to see even more of Bruce and his stick collection!
h/t: The Dodo
