The Men In My Life

Some of y'all know that my mother's day gift last year was an eight week old Cane Corso puppy. I was never a "dog Person" before he came along. Somehow, I fell in love along the way. My dog is big and drooly and he farts, burps and snores like an old man on a bean diet. He's massive and strong and prone to chewing up anything his unhingable jaws can fit around unless he's walked/jogged on a daily basis. We were walking this morning in the deluge, I in my poncho, he in his Gorton Fisherman raincoat that he abhors, and a thought struck me. For all the complaining I do about my dog - the vet bills, the groomer bills, the work, the 50 lbs of food a month, the work, the shit mountains, the chewed up stair treads, the work etc...he has really been the catalyst for many positive changes. For one, I walk more. He's a big, strong, dominant dog who has forced me to become a strong, confidant assertive leader. (At least while he's around) My entire novel has played out on our walks, I've met more neighbors and received more stares from hot men in trucks than I would ever garner on my own. We've bonded so closely that we even turn our heads at the same time.

He's a dog, I'm a human, we both know our boundaries and we're not too touchy feely but there are times when I can just think for him to do something and he'll do it. He's more in touch with me than I am with myself. Once, he even saved my life.

We've been through some times, me and that old dog. Okay, he's only one. And I'm only just becoming the owner he needs me to be. Becoming a dog owner was similar to becoming a parent in the respect that you don't realize how life altering the change was until you look back on it.