I have a husband, two kids, a quasi-SUV and house in the burbs. It had occurred to me that the only thing standing between me and utter Stepford wife-ism was a lack of “dog”. As in a-house-in-the-burbs-two-kids-and-a-dog.
Meet Jack.
Jack is a german shorthair pointer we picked up from a gsp rescue near Marysville. Jack is a somewhat odd animal. So far as we can tell he doesn’t bark, whine, whimper or growl. He does make an odd groaning noise when you rub his ears, a sound which usually precedes a graceless flop into your lap. He is socially inept. He loves people in general and kids in particular. He has a habit of walking right into the middle of whatever you are doing. He can, at times, behave like an over-caffeinated monkey. I am totally in love with him.
I wanted very badly to take photos of Jack but it turns out that Jack is terrified of my camera. My husband suggested that this might indicate that the dog had been beaten which, I am sure you will agree, is totally absurd. After all, I can’t think of a single person who would go about beating dogs with a $1,200 camera, can you? Well, maybe Warren Buffet or Bill Gates could afford to go about beating animals with pricey electronics, but neither men seem the type to do so.
Of course, shortly after Jack’s retreat in the face of my camera he cowered when I picked up the remote, my laptop, the playstation controllers and a clock radio.
“See?” I told my husband, “He hasn’t been beaten. He’s just a total luddite.”
Anyway, so what I wanted to say is this: I know I have a few runners that read because you e-mail me all the time and flatter me by asking my opinion about running-related things as if I actually know something about the sport. (I mean, wouldn’t you be surprised if at some point you showed up in Northern California and discovered first-hand that I was just another yahoo in Asics who executed what can only be described as a controlled fall for twelve miles?) But I will tell you this: if you are looking for a good running partner, get a gsp. These dogs can go for days. And when they aren’t going? They’re total couch potatoes. And they don’t shed. And, apparently the don’t bark either. And they’re pretty darned smart. And they can walk on water. And tutor you in math.