The Little Dog Came From You

Yeah, I admit it.  Calling your dog your child is pretty irritating to me.  I hate to be one of those parents, but I am. (For the record, I was that kind of person before I was a parent.) I grew up around lots and lots of animals and we called them pets, or cattle or fowl or the horses - what have you; we didn't call them people.  But that is beside the point, really.

I have been struggling to figure out how to respond when someone likens their "son" (dog) to my "son" (not dog) as in: "My son (dog) got me up in the middle of the night last night to pee!" My son (not dog)  got me up in the middle of the night, too: for a wet diaper, and to nurse and then to be put back to sleep. And my other son (not dog) kept me up the first half of the night, I terrified, because he is a teenager and well, that is life with a teenager (not dog). "Can you believe these children?" (your dog/ my not dog). No, I can't. These children, humans, little souls, astound me every day.

I mean, I appreciate the sentiment and the love, so I don't want to be inhumane to the 'animal people'. So, I mentioned it to a friend. What to do?  How do I hide my disdain?  How can I be more open and tolerant and appreciative of this boarding-on-disordered-personality* doglove?

I thought she hadn't heard me until later when she said, "Hey! I took my animals to the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk this weekend.  Want to see a picture of them on the roller coaster?"  Best response ever.

*Cluster A: Odd or eccentric behavior / Cluster B: Dramatic, emotional or erratic behavior / Cluster C: Anxious behavior.  See?