Marie has been wanting to have a dog for quite some time now. Having had the company of man's best friend for most of my life, I am content to do without now. However, during the last few weeks Marie's quest for canine company has almost become an obsession.
She started out wanting a medium-to-large dog - something along the lines of a labrador or some variety of retriever. All these dogs require copious amounts of exercise and Marie, of course, would be unable to look after the dog's needs in this area. Additionally our "garden" is just a small patio area. I feel unable to take on additional time-consuming activities, so I was dead set against having any dog requiring much in the way of "walkies". However, in the (as it turns out, forlorn) hope that Marie would be motivated enough to put some serious effort into walking outdoors, I agreed to getting a dog the moment she was able to walk around the (small) block in which we live.
Since Marie was unwilling and/or unable to progress to this level, she began to accept that her dream retriever would be just a dream. She began to peruse doggie websites for smaller breeds. As a result, I reduced the distance she would have to be able to walk before getting a dog. After a few weeks of almost non-stop internet browsing (in between her extended sleeping sessions), Marie decided to go for a toy dog (also known as companion dogs and occasionally lap dogs, for obvious reasons). Many of these breeds require little or no exercise, so you can see why they would be attractive to Marie. She also considered teacup dogs, the type promoted by Paris Hilton who carries one around in her bag (purse) and eagerly copied by other brain-dead "celebs"; but this idea was discarded when she learned that teacup dogs are really freak animals who cannot usually breed.
She started out wanting a medium-to-large dog - something along the lines of a labrador or some variety of retriever. All these dogs require copious amounts of exercise and Marie, of course, would be unable to look after the dog's needs in this area. Additionally our "garden" is just a small patio area. I feel unable to take on additional time-consuming activities, so I was dead set against having any dog requiring much in the way of "walkies". However, in the (as it turns out, forlorn) hope that Marie would be motivated enough to put some serious effort into walking outdoors, I agreed to getting a dog the moment she was able to walk around the (small) block in which we live.
Since Marie was unwilling and/or unable to progress to this level, she began to accept that her dream retriever would be just a dream. She began to peruse doggie websites for smaller breeds. As a result, I reduced the distance she would have to be able to walk before getting a dog. After a few weeks of almost non-stop internet browsing (in between her extended sleeping sessions), Marie decided to go for a toy dog (also known as companion dogs and occasionally lap dogs, for obvious reasons). Many of these breeds require little or no exercise, so you can see why they would be attractive to Marie. She also considered teacup dogs, the type promoted by Paris Hilton who carries one around in her bag (purse) and eagerly copied by other brain-dead "celebs"; but this idea was discarded when she learned that teacup dogs are really freak animals who cannot usually breed.
Eventually Marie settled on getting a chihuahua. The aforementioned Paris Hilton has 17 of these, both toy and teacup size (see video clip of Paris' dogs), but this had no effect on Marie's choice....I think!
We've already viewed some chihuahua puppies, but Marie intends not to get one until she sees one that she falls in love with. It is also my opinion that Marie should delay having any dog until her medication side effects wear off.
This whole canine caper is a diversion for Marie - a way to take her mind off more worrysome matters. But we all need an escape from time to time, don't we? And if you are an agoraphobic, your choice of escape is more limited. Btw, the children can't wait to get the new puppy!
