We got a dog. We got a dog about 3 months ago. The reason I haven’t written about her yet is that I thought that blogging about her equaled too much commitment. Commitment that I wasn’t quite ready for. “Weren’t you making a commitment by getting a dog in the first place” you might ask? Well, yes, sort of, …technically, yes. I just can’t say no to these faces, can you blame me?
She really is a nice dog. And I really do like dogs. I just have some ‘issues’ pertaining to dogs that I am currently working out.First of all, dogs are hairy creatures. This is a fact of life. I hate dog hair. This is another fact of life. I am slightly OCD about the cleanliness of my floors, furniture, clothes, children, etc. Which reminds me of a funny conversation that I had (well, overheard) with my boss about being OCD. It went like this…
Co-worker: (to boss)“wow dude, you are really OCD” (boss is doing something that resembles OCD behavior, can’t remember what it was, b/c it is a frequent occurrence for him)
Boss: “Everyone says that, but just because I’m awesome doesn’t mean I’m OCD”
Co-worker: “But, you really seem OCD”
Boss: “No, I’m just really, really good at everything”
Co-worker: “Vanessa, don’t you think he’s OCD”
Me: (pretending not to be eavesdropping) “what?”
I just thought he had a good point and offered an interesting perspective on what should or shouldn't be labeled as OCD behavior.
Anyways, on the other hand, besides the dog hair, Harley really keeps my kitchen floor immaculately clean. “Oops, dropped some cookie dough on the floor, better clean that up….. Wait a minute, thanks Harley!” “Sam, don’t throw your chicken nuggets on the floor! Mommy’s going to have to clean that up!…. nevermind! thanks Harley!”
Also, barking dogs set off some sort of ‘barking dog rage’ inside of me. I feel like I’m about to Hulk-out, seriously. I had a really bad experience with some neighbor dogs barking non-stop when we lived in Heber and I’ve never quite recovered…it involved nasty notes, nasty phone calls, ‘formal’ complaints. It really crossed the line that I've drawn for myself on just how much confrontation I am generally comfortable with …needless to say, it was really traumatizing for me. She really is not that bad of a barker. She barks occasionally, but quits immediately if I even as much as peek out the window. Not to mention that I have the most sensitive nose of anyone that I have ever met. Dogs stink. And they stink x10 to me. I'm still not sure what I was thinking, adding yet another being to the family that I have to feed, clean-up after, pick up poo after, and yell at.
I am still trying to see the benefits of having a dog. I’m not sure there are many for me. But my kids really seem to love her, and Jared does, too. And as “anti” as I am about dog issues, I really am starting to get attached to her.
See, I'm hugging her. (Even though it sort of looks like I'm kind of happily strangling her, I can assure you that this was a hug out of love).
