The Secret Dog Society
HOME– I would not make a good spy. And to use some of our choice new household language (developed just for Mazy), I might describe myself as “Bad spy. Bad spy girl.”
Prime example: I never knew a secret subculture of society (yes, our red-blooded American brethren) exists and will only openly approach you if you are walking with a dog. YES! Walk by yourself or walk with a friend and you will walk for years without so much as a head nod from some of these very same people. Grab a leash, a plastic bag, and a happy-go-lucky puppy and you are a card-carrying member without so much as an interview.
Mazy, sitting pretty.
Honestly, I am not much for clubs or organizations, of any ilk. I try to avoid crowds and public shows of affiliation or doorways that lead to socially-respectable meetings following protocol such as Robert’s Rules of Order or obligatory ties for men.
However {pause for emphasis}, I am rethinking my anti-social leanings. This canine club has a powerful pull on me. They rarely gather- it seems to be more of a chance street encounter with the option of a secret pawshake, which ~thankfully~ Mazy seems to know. I’m becoming quite taken with this overt declaration of neighborliness and freewheeling profession of puppy love.
Are you in this society? You are a friendly bunch. You want to know all sorts of personal information about Mazy. You want to pet her and you laugh when she kisses you; you don’t seem to mind that she’s got a leaf hanging out of her mouth. I hope that’s a leaf.
You never seemed very interested in my cat. Which, by the way, is his preferable relationship with you, too, so it’s all good. In fact, for the life of him, he cannot understand what all the fuss is over this clumsy, barking, overly-friendly fur ball. He finds her intellectually stunted and socially unrefined.
Mazy, however, is craaaaazzy to meet you. Her tail is thumping at the very thought of it. Oh, the exhilaration –it’s too fantastic to even imagine!! Oh happy, happy day!! This is possibly the very best moment of her life, EVER.
Mazy’s got baby status. She’s not with me? I bring out the iPhone with her photos and you gush. Funny thing is, I want to ask you questions about your dog, too. I am genuinely interested. What kind? Boy or girl? How old? What color? Do you have a picture? “Oooh, what a doll baby!”
I do believe this is my kind of club. I am Kim Byer, Secret Dog Society member for 14 weeks and counting.
February 7th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Look at how Mazy is growing. Gorgeous!!
I am totally a member! And quite frankly, think that anyone who isn’t, has something wrong with them. I have more pictures of my two Beagle pups (now 10) than anything/anyone else – even my own human kids! (Granted, I’ve had them longer…) And they’ve graced the labels of Jones Soda on many occasion. Ya, I am bragging, thankyouverymuch.
I tell my single guy friends that if they want to meet women, go to the park with a dog.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
the pasta Sounds wonderful and a terrific Winter dish! love the rustic ‘feel’ to this dish! and Kim, I too am in that dog society…I have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (the only one of his kind here in my town, o.k. so I live in a small town) when I walk him…he’s like a magnet…people LOVE him!!! it’s fun, huh!
February 8th, 2010 at 3:38 am
Oh, what a cutie!
My husband and I noticed the same phenomenon – we’ve lived in this neighborhood for YEARS – and when we got our darling boy puppilicious one (yeah, we have a special language too!), suddenly, all the strangers who lived around us became neighbors . . . they note how much he’s grown (a LOT) and how often we walk him, how he REALLY seems to object to bicycles . . .
And the puppster himself is suspicious of anyone walking without a dog!
February 8th, 2010 at 4:19 am
I love this post – so many smiles of recognition! Before we got our dog, Barney the Border Terrorist, er, Terrier, I thought I knew loads of people in our London neighbourhood. Since he came along, I realise I only knew people who were very like us. Now I know all kinds of people who would never have crossed my path before, old ladies, little kids, the odd tramp or two. He is truly the chien sans frontiers. Mazy looks like heaven, what a darling.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:30 am
I’m a total dog person so I would be one of those people, down on one knee, asking all sorts of questions when I saw that adorable dog. I have pictures of Moose plastered up all over my office from pup to recent, same as the kids. Says something doesn’t it?? LOL
February 9th, 2010 at 7:41 am
That is a very pretty dog.
February 9th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Lovely dog Kim, he looks so sweet.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Lovely dog! Reminds me of a springer spaniel we used to have when I was growing up.
There’s something wrong with your RSS feed Kim – I can’t see your new posts in my reader unless I check manually.
February 10th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
I have a mutt. Terrier-ish mutt. His name is Moag. Short for Mogli. He was named after the boy, Mowgli, in the Jungle Book. Though we dropped the W because, well it was during the dark years of George when we acquired Moag, we were dropping W’s wherever we could.
He came from the pound already an old man. It was literally his last day on this planet when my friend Helen discovered him. She just had to adopt him and bring him home. It was his last chance.
Once she got him home. It became obvious that he was damaged goods. He had spent a very long time in the pound. Survival meant showing a fierce face. It was how he was. But this fierce face did not work with the gentle dog she had been living with a very long time. She was distraught. Taking him back to the pound meant 3 strikes…
She asked us to foster him. We agreed with the caveat that he could not stay long. We had lost a beloved boy pug dog a couple of years earlier. I felt I could never love another dog. I felt bad for Moag, but he was a temporary boarder in my mind.
But you know what? His fierce face was a coping mechanism. He was a lot like me. Snarky on the outside. Scared as shit on the inside. We shared a lot of secrets that dog and I. We grew into a place where we both accepted that the other was damaged goods, and decided we were ok with that.
Moag lives lives with me now, and forever.
GREG
February 11th, 2010 at 6:29 am
This is the kind of dog I want to have maybe not now. We went through a lot of dogs but we don’t have one right now. My sister’s dog Zoe is a shi tzu just visited us this afternoon. She is excited to see people more than meeting other dogs. She’s hungry all the time. She know how to go up the stairs but doesn’t know how to go down. She brightened up my day today.
February 11th, 2010 at 11:36 am
Oh, how I miss your smiley face around this grey and dreary place. Thankfully, I’ll being released from duty March 12. And, oh, how I’m counting down the days. Sounds to me like you are adapting quite well to homemaking.
I was just thinking about you and wondering if you were enjoying puppyhood. Sounds like you are! Mazy Grace is adorable! I am so happy to hear that you’ve joined the secret dog society.
February 17th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
“I hope that’s a leaf.” Ha! My favorite line of this post.
Man, I miss my dog so much. It’s been almost 2 years since he passed away, and I can still feel the silky-soft sweetness of his floppy jaws and ears. Every couple of months I visit a local “rescue” website and send my husband photos of the dogs available for adoption. We’re not ready for another dog just yet, but… maybe soon.
February 21st, 2010 at 11:02 am
love your previous recipe, I like beet, but not hubby. I love your doggy pix, so cute. I’ve never been one for any organized social anythings either. I remember when I got my dog, that canine club was fun, but now everyone gushing over the kid is better. I gave away my crazy chow to a couple with no kids, her personality was too strong. She wasn’t protective, just nippy and jealous like a poodle. When we get a house, I’m getting a big outdoor, and I know indoor to snuggle, mix of some kind. I cant wait!
April 20th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
We too are a member of the secret dog society. For years my best friend related that she could not go on many vacations since she had two dogs. How silly I thought to let a dog rule where and when you could go and come. Hah! She was so right…we have a boston terrier (Oliver) that we MUST seek accommodations for when we go on vacations. HOTEL accomodations that is, he is much too precious to stay in the Pet Hotel!
Pictures are oohed and ahhhed over for years of our children, both the one human son we have and the black and white son that we also cherish. Never thought I would be a member of a doggie society and now we are!