I have had an antipathy for shih-tzus, which I find an astoundingly well-named breed, for some time. For one thing, the ones I've been exposed to have hair over their eyes so they look at you, or at least they face you, with their small hairy faces and their panting little mouths agape, showing only their lower teeth, which reminds me of a certain Officer Driscoll who gave me my first speeding ticket on Route 128. The second thing I have against the breed is that my neighbor had two, they piddled on my car tire, which I did not realize until I had checked the puddle to see if it was brake fluid.

It is not merely their size, though the thought of a ruddy giant shih-tzu looking me in the eye while I'm sitting or standing is even less pleasant than the prospect of the giant ants from films of yore.

Big beasts, but not too big.