Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Little Dogs

For the past few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about having a dog--a small dog that is apartment-compatible.  Of course, I see people in my building and on the streets around it who are walking their adorable apartment dogs, but it also seems that every other book I read has a dog in it, which just reinforces this wanting-a-dog feeling.  (For example, the book Deerskin by Robin McKinley had a believably strong female protagonist with a whole bunch of dogs in it.  Although I did not envy any other aspect of her life, I did love her dogs.)  And my sister has a gorgeous dog who I see regularly on Facebook.

I've been dreaming about dogs.  Last night night I dreamed about Jack Russell terriers (which had featured in a book I finished this weekend).

I am not planning on getting a dog any time soon.  I am just letting this dog-wanting feeling happen.  It remains to be seen whether it peters out over time or builds to the point that I seriously start wanting to get a dog. (As you all know, I love cats and rabbits, but my allergy problems make them impossible for now.  It remains to be seen whether I would have problems with dogs.)

So, in my current doggy-brained state, this post made me cry.  (I wasn't surprised that the husband of the blogger wrote it.  Based on what she's written about her dogs in the past, I'm sure the blogger herself is way too distraught to write about it yet.)

But truly: Isn't that an incredibly cute dog?

5 comments:

mom said...

Yorkshire terriers are so cute they make everyone wish they had a dog. The same with Jennifer's dog. But, I do have to ask will the dog have to stay home when you go birding?

Tam said...

My aunt (dad's sister, not the one you know) had a yorkie when I was a kid. The pictures on that blog are beautiful but somehow that is not my type of dog. Among small dogs, I lean more towards beagles and terriers, though beagles in particular are said to be difficult (cat-like, but of course I do like cats).

I pretty much always want a dog, but I'm always briefly cured of it when I dog-sit. If you decide to take the next step but you still aren't sure, you could try fostering a dog for a local shelter.

Sally said...

Mom -- hah, yes, dogs and birding don't go together all that well, though I would have been amused to see Audrey react to that big set of gulls in the park in Washington.

Tam -- good point about fostering a dog. I think the experience of having to care for a dog might cure me a bit, but who knows.

Jen said...

Sal, you definitely don't want a spaniel when birding, unless you're trying to see them fly away. Don't know if any other breeds would be better behaved. The yorkie was a sweet dog and a sweet story. Reminds me a bit of how we got our two cats when we only expected to come home with one. There was just no question, even though we didn't have permission from our landlord for two. Dogs are much less independent, but it's fun that she likes going places with us. She also introduces us to new people and helps us get our exercise going for frequent walks. Our kitties have seen the world too, but I know they've been happiest at home, which is nice when you want to snuggle on the couch with a movie.

Sally said...

Jen, I guess a spaniel would only be useful in those situations like: there's a sparrow in that tall grass but I can't tell what kind it is; maybe if we flush it...?

I'd forgotten how you'd ended up with 2 cats instead of 1 -- that worked out very well.