We are not dog people. No, let me rephrase that, we will never be pet people. For starters, Aaron is allergic to several types of animals. The first time I met Aaron's family, I was struck by their love of pets especially dogs. I was a little worried that Aaron would want to have 10 dogs, 15 cats, a bird and maybe a giant aquarium full of fish to top it all off. I still remember that moment of joy when we discovered that we both shared a dislike for animals in general. Sure we were ok with other people having and loving them, we just didn't feel the need to ever have any ourselves. We've since decided that we might someday get some chickens for eggs and meat and possibly a dog if our children absolutely insist upon it. However, it has to be a very specific dog. Here is the list of qualifications for the perfect dog:
- Must be an outside dog
- Must only bark on appropriate occasions (i.e. someone is trying to attack our house)
- Must be well behaved
- Must require little attention and only want to be petted on its birthday
- It must never jump on us or try to bite or scratch us in any way
- It must never, ever chew up shoes or try to steal anything from the garage
- Preferably it would never shed or even poop
Ya, I think we're better off getting a robotic dog...well, at least I thought that until today. Today is the day when I saw the perfect dog that cannot be.
I was outside hanging clean diapers on the line to dry when I first saw it. It was a black labrador. My first thought was, oh crap, I forgot to close the fence and now it will try to follow me around and make me pet it and possibly even attack me and give me rabies. But it just looked at me. I started to notice that there was white around its mouth and it walked with a slight limp. Ah, it's an old dog. It would never hurt me. No, don't think that way. It probably just wants all your food and to be petted all the time. The dog just looked at me. It didn't try to come in the fence. Finally, it just laid down in the yard and patiently looked at me. Look, it doesn't have a collar. It is probably hungry. Maybe...No, Lindsey then it will never leave. The dog didn't bark, didn't whine, didn't try to jump on me. It just looked at me with giant eyes that said, "Please love me." Maybe we could keep it. It looks so nice and well behaved It would just follow me around so patiently and so quietly like a little friend. But dog food is so expensive. The dog just continued to look at me pleading, "I don't want anything fancy, I just want to be loved." Surely this old dog deserves some love in its old age. It is not going to live for much longer and someone should have compassion on it. I finished up the laundry and prepared to go inside. The dog didn't come near and didn't make any noise. It just looked at me, "Please, please." As soon as I got in the house, I knew what I needed to do. I sent Aaron a text saying, "Can I please have a dog?"
30 seconds later, my husband called me laughing and laughing. He said that I could not have a dog and I could not touch the dog and I was to stay far away from the dog for fear of being bit or catching a disease. Please, please, I begged him. I love this dog I told him. He just laughed more and repeated his instructions. And so the poor, old black labrador is doomed to a life of loveless vagrancy until it finally meets its maker.
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