Woof!

I was tooling around on the Internet this morning, reading the New York Times and contemplating entering the chat rooms, when I got an instant message from someone unfamiliar. “Jeff?” the person wrote. “Yes?” I wrote back. It turned out it was my dad. I’d never had an online chat with one of my parents before, and I wasn’t sure how to express myself. It just seemed weird to have a conversation with my dad using “LOL” and “oh” and “oh ok” and smiley faces. But I got used to it.

My dad told me that my parents have settled on a new dog. When our old dog died last month after a long life, my mom said that she wasn’t interested in getting another one, but as the house’s emptiness turned to sullenness she changed her mind.

But how to acquire a new dog? The last dog was a mixed-breed animal from a shelter, but after considering the options, my parents decided to go to a breeder. I think I would have been torn. If you get a dog from a shelter, you know you’re doing a good deed, rescuing a dog from harsher fates, but you don’t really know what you’re getting. If you get a dog from a breeder, you know what you’re getting, but… I don’t know. Ever see the Simpsons episode where Santa’s Little Helper was replaced with Laddie? A perfect dog… too perfect.

Anyway, I’m sure I don’t know what I’m talking about. Like I know from dog breeders.

So they decided to go through a breeder. But what breed? My brother and I were pushing for a retriever of some sort — my brother really wanted my parents to get a golden, and I would’ve been happy with that or a black lab. But since I don’t live there anymore and my brother’s moving out soon, I guess it’s up to them. They considered basset hounds (my mom had one as a kid) and the aforementioned golden retrievers, but they finally settled on getting a German shorthaired pointer. They’ve picked a breeder and everything, and they should get a puppy in about a week and half. They don’t yet know which member of the litter they’re getting.

I’m happy that they’re getting a new dog, but I think the first time I see him or her I’m going to feel a fresh wave of lament over the loss of our old dog. On top of that, I had a really bad roommate experience last year for a few months, and the guy had a German shorthaired pointer, the only one I’ve ever known. She was a great dog, but I still associate that breed with the bad roommate. I assume that will change.

Sigh… I guess I won’t be able to call the new dog “my” dog, since I won’t be living with it. But maybe someday I’ll get a dog of my own. Or a boyfriend. It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s someone to lick my face in the morning.