my three dog life

joy, love, kindness, companion - Jake

Sometimes I wonder if I might be missing something with only dogs for companionship, but then I think about the mornings. First there would be the discovery that there is no milk for someone who takes it in his coffee. Then the likelihood of conversation. I need to be quiet with my coffee. I want to listen to the birds. I like to sit on the sofa with the dogs. Suppose another person were here? What if he had opinions ? What if he used the word postmodern with a straight face ? What if he wanted to explain how many feet from a dwelling a cesspool needed to be ? What if he wanted to talk about the pros and cons of raising the prime rate ? what if he wanted to talk about his childhood ? Or worse, mine. I can put up with the barking because he'll stop for a treat (and because I love him so much), but people are different. You can't shut them up with the offer of a dog biscuit.

Lots of people in my somewhat leaky boat are on the lookout for a human companion. Not me. I have learned to love the inside of my own head. There isn't much I'd rather say than think. Of course there is the rare bird with whom I am in sync, the odd person who can make me laugh my head off and with whom conversation is not an imposition or a chore, but these people are few and far between.I can talk to them on the phone. I can invite them for coffee.

Dogs make good company. They are happy to accommodate you.

Abigail Thomas - from an essay in Woof ! Writers on Dogs

This morning was one of those early mornings when I woke up with that feeling, that feeling of ... big sigh ... life just keeps going on, and here you are in it ... so best rally yourself, girlfriend. I plod downstairs to feed hungry cats and to pour myself a cup of coffee. I knew what photos I would post today but had no idea what words would accompany the images of my sweet boy Jake.

I was up a little early this morning and I decided to take my coffee back to bed for a bit. I opened the pages of the latest issue of Oprah's magazine to this excerpted essay. Serendipity - funny how things like that happen. There were my words ... she's written my thoughts. Adapted from Abigail Thomas' essay in Woof, ! Writers on Dogs. She has also written a smallish book, a memoir called A Three Dog Life. A book that I did pick up at the library once but didn't actually read, didn't get to it. I must order it again.

I miss my own three dog life. There are times I long for it and I wonder, where did it go ? I want it back, or I want another life just like it and as yet I'm still too afraid to try and find that life again.


love ya, miss you ... sleep tight sweet Noodle