From the opening line “If I were a bitch, I’d be in love with Bill Truesdale,” Susan Orlean makes us aware of Bill’s status as a dog, but continues on in a way that blends personification with the actual. Throughout the great opening and the entire piece itself, Bill is given almost full control of his life. Instead of saying that his owner’s sell him as a stud to people who want to breed their dogs with Bill, Orlean writes instead that Bill himself charges for his sexual favors. What’s also great is the idea she puts forth in the opening that Bill has to watch his weight, but it is all ok because he likes working out. The key to Orlean’s style in this piece is the power over his own existence that she gives Bill Truesdale’s character. Although you could initially see the opening as maybe just that, and expect Orlean to shift gears and perspective, the beginning of the second section, “PRETTY soon, Biff won’t have to be so vigilant about his diet.”  lets the reader know that this style of writing is going to be the piece. We are going to see Bill’s life through Orlean’s filter, almost as if he had told her the details himself.