We have a perfect puppy
A silly claim to make
But she is a perfect puppy,
when she’s not awake.
Last night, at 3:48 AM (not that I remember the specific time) Nessie needed to go out. It was . . . refreshing.
She was still a perfect puppy because she did whine loud enough to wake me and wait while I tied my shoes, though she whined that they were unnecessary. She thus saved me the trouble of cleaning up at that time of the morning.
But it’s been a long time since we’ve had a puppy in the house. Sixteen years, actually. You forget how much energy they require.
How much? I’ve lost two pounds in the last two days. A needed trend after Christmas.
That’s why dog owners weigh less, are healthier and live longer. They crawl on the floor playing tug-of-war. They chase balls at the dog park. They have to hide their food.
But dog owners are also happier. I’m not sure that has anything to do with walks at 3:48 AM (not that I remember the specific time).
But while we were at the pet store we were swarmed with people wanting to pet the puppy. After a tour of Nessie’s fans, we finally got to the checkout line.
There, an elderly couple got in line behind us. The woman asked to pet her and inquired about her name. Nessie was happy to love them, leaning against them and soaking up the attention, tail tip tapping.
Then they looked at each other knowingly, if a little sadly, and began to tell their story.
“We haven’t had a dog in a while,” she began. It was a German Shepherd who lived to be fifteen. They didn’t have the strength to start over, yet.
It was different being on the other side of the story. This time we got to allow someone else to borrow our dog. Having survived on borrowed dogs for three years, we knew what it meant.
We checked out slowly, then took our wiggling bundle of energy to the car, happy to have had the chance to share.
If only they’d come over at 3:48 AM (not that I remember the specific time).
