Puppy Love

 Growing up I had pets, sort of.  I had a gerbil named Lucy, a hamster named Ruffles, a chameleon named... uhh I can't remember, and a hermit crab or two.  While these critters provided me with hours of entertainment and an early introduction to lessons in responsibility, they didn't always return the love for me that I had for them.  Let's face it, you can't exactly snuggle with a tiny lizard.  Finally when my brother left for college I convinced my parents to get a cat, Bailey, and then another one, Jack. Both Bailey and Jack were rescue kitties and I loved their sweet meows and loud purrs. (And so did my parents despite their somewhat resistant attitudes towards my begging for a cat.  My dad even had a special way he called for Jack when he was hiding.  Picture a grown man cupping his hands around his mouth and loudly yelling "Where's Jack?!?!?!" with a scooping inflection on the "where's" and a punctuated accent on the "Jack."  My Dad is really a nice normal man, I promise.)

People always seem to be categorized into two types:  "Cat People", and "Dog People", and those who feel a strong affinity towards one or the other seem to spend time defending their decision to prefer the feline over the canine or vice versa.  Until recently, if forced to be identified as a cat or dog person, I most likely would have chosen the former.  This stems primarily from my inexperience with dogs and the fact that, for the most part, dogs never really seemed to show much more than "toleration" for me in terms of affection.  I've never been very good at pursuing ventures where I didn't show immediate promise.  If I had been an instant dog whisperer, and dogs from all walks of life had flocked to me only to be hypnotized by my gentle gaze, I may have chosen to call myself a "Dog person." 

When I met my husband I knew he was definitely a dog lover, and unlike me, furry friends always seemed to be drawn to him, and he always seemed to have an instant good rapport and relationship with them as well.  "Hey Buddy" from Paul's mouth caused a dog's tail to wag wildly, whereas the same dog would likely blankly stare at me. Ok, some of this is in my head, I've drawn out a few tail wags in my day, but you get my point.

About two months ago I was perusing Facebook when this picture popped up in my news feed.  It had been posted by a local organization called Hope for Paws that helps to care for and place rescue dogs with families.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that literally this little dog's face spoke to me, and told me that she needed me.  I know, you are rolling your eyes, but I'm honestly not kidding.  Paul and I decided to test the waters and agreed to "foster" her for an undetermined amount of time.  About, oh, two hours after having her in our home, we knew we had found ourselves a permanent mutt and addition to our family, Maggie.  We don't really know much about her back story, and being a rescue, she obviously has a long way to go to feel completely comfortable around people, but I'm so happy that this little dog came into our lives...

... and all of a sudden I found myself doing things that used to completely puzzle me.

THE DOG VOICE:  I could never quite get a handle on why dog owners' voices would change into a high pitched pile of mush when they spoke to their pets.  I made fun of my college roommate for this, because her voice would get so high pitched when she saw her family beagles that her words became unrecognizable.  Now I get it.  There is no logical explanation, but when a dog looks you in the eyes and wags it's tail, all of a sudden we begin to speak in a tone that we believe to be endearing to them.  Yes, it's bizarre, and yes, I now have a dog voice.

THE NICKNAME:  I had always noticed that dog (and cat too) owners had multiple names they frequently used for their dogs.  Though sometimes these nicknames are shorter versions of the dog's given name (ex: Mr. Elvis = Mr,  Oscar = Osc,  and Andy Warhol = AndyDoodle), but sometimes these names have no relation to the actual names of the dogs or cats (ei. Gabby = Skeebers)  A couple of weeks ago I looked at Maggie (who we do sometimes call "Mags" or "Maggins") and said "Hey Schnoobins!" What?  Schnoobins?  What is that?  And who have I become?  

PHOTOS OPS: Everyone I know with pets takes pictures of them whenever they are doing anything new or cute.  These photos then get posted to facebook, emailed or texted to friends and family.  While I never objected to this, I sometimes thought it was a little excessive.  Now you should see my photo collection on my phone.  Its 90% pictures of Maggie doing things that are new or cute.  I can't help myself.  Paul and I are always trying to snag the cuter photo of ourselves with our pup. 

 

I don't want to make this blog all about apologies, but I do think it is about realizations and newly found acceptance.  So to all you dog lovers out there, I finally understand.  When I come home from a long day of teaching, she is there wagging her tail and ready to play.  I love watching Paul and Maggie run in circles around the house like kids, and I enjoy getting text messages about what a good walk he and Maggie had that afternoon.  Dog person, cat person, (or even hermit crab person I suppose), its the little things.