Friday, May 18, 2007

Being, Time, and Doggie Poop

Heidigger Taylor Cooldog, a permanent member of the Coolclan, has temporarily taken up residence with me. So has Sweetheart, the gerbil. But this post is more about Digger. Perhaps it is a failure of imagination on my part, but it just seems to me that dogs are more fun than gerbils, and far less likely to pee in your hand.

Digger is an interesting addition to my life. The children of my friends are in love with Digger and are already lobbying for me either to refuse to give him back or to replace him with a dog of my own immediately. I've loved having him as an excuse to walk my neighborhood. We've met more neighbors together in the last 10 days than I've met all year on my own. And, in a somewhat mixed adventure, Digger (chick magnet that he is) got us invited to a college party with a couple of my former students. We just stopped in for a minute to say hi, but I think Digger was the life of the party.

Now, I'm not given to the existential questions, really. But it is an interesting thing to realize that you are one of two beings connected by a leash and to wonder just a little bit why you get to be the one who holds the leash rather than having it around your neck. Of course, any sense of superiority that earns you quickly disappears once you find yourself picking up the excrement of the being at the other end of the leash. One does begin to wonder who is in charge here.

It has been fun having Digger here. I'll miss him when he goes. I may have to start looking for the perfect medium-sized low-shed dog for me soon.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A dog is a great idea. Consider a smallish, terrier-mix. Small dog=small poops.