Conversations About Dogs

i went to bed @ 9:30 last night and slept until 9am this morning. i probably could have slept longer but a certain dog had way surpassed patience and decided he wanted to get a start on his day. so rather than jumping off the bed and passing time by chewing on a bone until i awoke, he cuddled close to me and then started awning -aaaahhhhwwwwwooooo. then he stretched. the kind of stretch that takes up 3/4 of a king size bed and lets me know that my presence in the remaining 1/4 is an irritation. i woke up to 2 big fuzzy, chocolate fur covered paws clawing me in the face. yes, yes, i'm getting up.

N called me on saturday @ about 10:30 am: "it's so nice not having a dog wake me up."

i had been up since 7:30 with said dog: "i'm happy for you, baby." i sighed and pulled harder on the other end up the rope. by that time we had taken a walk, played fetch in the yard and eaten breakfast and i was trying to map out how i coud entertain the little fella for the rest of the day. . .

i spent the afternoon with my friend, Sara. she kept repeating how much she wanted her own little furry friend, "but i took this test on petfinder.com that was supposed to match my interests with a kind of breed that would suit me and after i had answered all of the questions they said no breed matched my tastes." she looked kind of pensive for a moment and then resumed eating her sandwich.

"well," i asked "what did you say you wanted?"

she took a sip of her water "a dog that's not too big but not too small, doesn't chew, doesn't bark, doesn't shed, isn't too active, isn't aggressive but makes a good guard dog and that's friendly toward children."

"ahhh," i said, "so what you really want is a stuffed animal with big teeth that you can set by the door."

she smiled, even laughed a little "i know. i need to loosen my criteria a little more." we sat silent for a moment and she said "do you think Matisse is the perfect companion for you?"

i looked down and thought for a moment. thought about the last 5 months - the things he's chewed, the nights he's kept me up, the mornings he's woken up early, the barking. and then i started thinking about the long walks we've taken together, the days @ the beach throwing the ball into the water time and time again. and the times he has been a bed time companion when N's gone.

"yes," i said. he's the perfect companion for me."