My Dog And Me

Dear Dog Lady,

I recently read the bestseller, “Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog.” I was amused and touched by it. I realized that my problems with my “worst” dog Sylvester are part of the joys of living with animals. Sylvester, a poodle, occasionally chews on the couch leg. He barks at dogs out in the street. He begs for food. He pulls on the leash. When he was a puppy, he ate my favorite sling back stilettos. He threw up his kibble yesterday because he chewed on a stick and the wood chips upset his tummy. Our imperfect life together goes on and on. What can’t people just accept their dogs’ misdeeds and bad behavior? Have you ever heard of a perfect dog?

Sarah, Garden City, NY

Sarah, your dog is perfect. My shaggy sweetheart with his fishy breath is perfect. Author John Grogan celebrates his perfect dog in “Marley and Me” (HarperCollins). Those of us who give shelter and sustenance to companion animals get the wonderful “worst” pets we all deserve. And unless our perfect dogs attack a person or another dog, which is completely unacceptable, we tolerate their indiscretions and misadventures with humor and exasperation. Hey, what’s a little tinkle on the carpet between friends?

In a classic episode of “Seinfeld,” Jerry goes out with a woman exactly like him (played by Janeane Garafolo). At first, he’s thrilled, but then feels stifled by the similarities. So goes it with dogs. We shouldn’t expect them to be canine doppelgangers. They will never perform exactly as we want, even if we train them into submission. Dogs will always provide perfect moments of surprise, amusement and exasperation as they leave muddy tracks all over our hearts.

Posted by Dog Lady at June 2, 2006 06:08 PM