Dog Show

Saturday we went to a dog show. This was the first time I’d ever been to one and it was alot of fun. I got loved by a doberman, a komondor and a bloodhound. You don’t realize there are so many different breeds – 150 according to the AKC – until you see nearly all of them at the same time.

I’ve always liked dogs but I haven’t had one since my brother and I talked my dad into getting us one when I was 17. Actually, we did more than talk him into it. We had the breeder show up at the house with the puppies and had picked one out just prior to dad’s arrival home from work. “Write the man a check,” we said. Since my parents had just split up we capitalized on guilt. Being teenagers, we then promptly ignored the dog. My dad tried to train the dog but being newly single and trying to hold together a house with two kids meant that it wasn’t a high priority. The dog ended up destructive and not-very-well house trained. Fortunately, my dad found the dog a better home sometime after I moved out.

My girlfriend has a dog, so I guess you could say I have one – it, she I mean, lives with me. Now this is the nicest dog on the planet; a sweet and very well-behaved Westie. She’s about 13 and my girlfriend got her when she was around 5. The Westie belonged first to a vet who had saved her life after she was found injured on the streets of Miami. My girlfriend got her when the vet died. The dog sleeps on the end of the bed, and my girlfriend, who has always owned dogs, has informed me several times there will always be a dog in that spot. I guess that’s okay… good thing I like dogs.

Since we’ll always have a dog, we often speculate on what kind of dog we’ll have next. I want a dog that’s small and portable, has short hair and is relatively calm, not aggressive. I don’t want an aggressive dog because of the parrot. Right now, we usually lock up the aged Westie in order to let the bird out of it’s cage. We sometimes allow the dog free roam while the bird is out if we’re both there and attentive. Old and well-trained aside, a terrier is a terrier and could perceive a small animal moving on the floor to be prey, even if it’s just the bird who had fluttered there because he was spooked. My girlfriend wants another terrier or some other sporting dog. A dog she can train for agility and to play fly-ball. So that means we’re probably getting two dogs someday – hers and hers. Seems like we’ll always have to lock up someone to avoid accidents. Oh well… at least my girlfriend says “I’d be delighted to have dogs with you.”