Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Yes, I think I will pet that dog in the pet store.

Mommy was a notorious dog lover. I mean, like uber-crazy in love. Seriously people, it was like she had the south pole of a magnet embedded in her hand, and ever dog's head was the north pole of another magnet. The love didn't stop at her own, as she couldn't never resist a dog that came in the proximity, possibly even crossing the road to do so.

The place where her desire to stalk down random dogs was most obviously, the pet store (enter chain name here). As an young teen, going to the pet store with mommy was not on the top of my list, as embarrassment was an necessary badge of honor for teens, and what ensued at the pet store was inevitable embarrasment. She'd stop by every dog, get down on the floor, pet the dog, talk to the dog, and yes, let the dog lick her face. Enter stage left: Me. I can remember literally pulling on her arm for her to stand up, mumbling under my breath, or possibly, even taking the cart and proceeding to shop without her.

The only reason I don't feel bad about this previous stage of embarrassment, is that through such persistence, mommy broke me down until I was an equal partner in crime. Sooner enough, I ended up joining my mother on the floor, talking to and petting random dogs, and yes, letting them lick my face.

Today I took the train over to the West Side to go to Petland Discounts. I needed to keep up mommy's regular tradition of buying toys for all the animals in the family, half brothers included(that's you Block Head, if you're reading this). In the toy section, I turned around and there was a nice friendly looking doggy and their human. I felt an instant rush in my veins. I say this in all seriousness, like a magnetic pull to this animal. I asked politely if I could pet him. I stayed and talked the owner for a few minutes, and gave Vito some pats (Vito was the dog) and said goodbye.

I honestly feel that rush in my veins and the hotness in my face was mommy pulling me over to the doggy. I love that she was uber-crazy in love with dogs, and I'm 100% proud to be inheriting this trait from mommy.

I sometimes name random dogs in my head when I see them passing on the street.

1 comment:

egc said...

That is so nice of you to keep up the tradition of all the dogs getting presents. I always was impressed that your mom had presents for all dogs and cats and I sure if she could have come up with a gift for our water frog, Tim, she would have.
Block head says "Woof" (translation is Thanks!)