The Dog I Thought I Didn’t Want
I never grew up with dogs.
I never wanted a dog as an adult. I thought that they were too expensive. I hate it when they stare at you when you eat. And, I never saw the point in getting emotionally invested in an animal that is going to die before you and put your emotions through the mill.
Last night though, my five year old daughter, Cat, was playing with a little ball she got from school. The ball escaped her and rolled under a couch, over the hard wood floor , and straight into the mouth of our dog , Captain, who scooped it up like an eager short stop grabbing a bunt in the World Series. Catherine wailed as she saw her pooch frolicking with her prized ball. She raced toward Captain, who started to interpret her advance as a game and got up to run. I said “Hold on” and both Cat and Captain stopped.
I looked at Captain and said “Cap, can you please give the ball to Catherine?”. Captain calmly put the ball on the ground and with his nose gently rolled the ball to Catherine. He then looked at me like “Did I do good?” and I said “Thanks buddy”. Cat was delighted and the two began a game of hot potato- Cat rolled Cap the ball, and he rolled it back.
In Ricky Gervais’ amazing show “Afterlife” Gervais’s character Tony, who lost his wife to cancer, reflects Gervais’ real life love for dogs when he explains his TV pooch saved his life by being his companion through his grief. He had a great quote which I couldn’t find exactly but it went something like this “ Whatever it is that makes a living thing matter, call it a soul, whatever, dogs have it”.
The old me would be surprised at how right the current me thinks he is.