Dog People: Who Knew?

As you might be able to tell by now, I'm pretty much obsessed with our dog. Maybe it's just because she's the first dog I ever had. I don't know. But there are a lot of things I didn't realize would happen to me when I became a dog owner. For one, I knew I'd like her, but I didn't really, truly believe I could love her. It's only been the past week or so when I've begun to notice that I fall more in love with her every day. (Of course, this could be partly due to the fact that she's settled down considerably since we brought her home... I think most of the nervousness is gone now, and she's not constantly tearing up jack around the apartment.) Lately, when I'm away from her for a long time, I start to miss her, and I love coming home to her running up to me and wagging her little tail and getting all excited. I love how she's such a big baby and likes being coddled accordingly. She's so cuddly that I can hold her in my lap, even though she weighs 40 lbs. When I'm out, I always look for toys I think she would like (to chew up and destroy, that is- they don't last long). And even my MOM is starting to like her, and talks to her in baby voices and scolds me if she thinks I'm punishing her too much (she's such a grandmother already). 

But another thing I've found out is that there really is this whole other culture and world of dog owners and lovers. We've been taking her to this awesome dog park out off of Lovell Rd., and it is seriously so much fun to watch her interact and play and race with tons of other dogs. They have this huge pond of water that the dogs can play, and Gretchen really isn't sure how she feels about it yet, but it is hilarious to watch all the dogs just paddling around and chasing each other for tennis balls. I love being around other "dog people" too. They tend to love their pets as if they were children, and it's awesome that they are used to and don't mind barking and jumping and slobbering. In fact, most of them get down and love all over Gretchen even when she's being obnoxious and trying to jump on them (a habit we haven't been able to break her of just yet). It's cool to see all sorts of different breeds and match them with their owners, like in the opening sequence of 101 Dalmations. Most of the dogs are bigger because I think little dogs might get trampled to death, but we've seen everything from a feisty Jack Russell to a lumbering 110-lb. gorgeous Great Dane (still a puppy, if you can believe it!). And mostly they all just romp around together like they're best buddies. It is freaking adorable. I'm starting to feel like I really understand what it means to have a dog, and I love it. I now know what I've been missing out on all my life!