Interlude: Dogs of the Future

sometimes we talk about what our next dog will be like.

this is usually prompted by a puppy sighting, or by particularly bad behavior from one of our existing dogs. the conversation goes something like this:

"our next dog will be a good dog."

"our next dog will listen to us."

"it'll never [insert here the nature of the most recent crime committed by existing dog]."

"oh, maybe it'll be a girl! a little blond dog, and we'll name her ruby!"

"now, wait a minute. the next dog is my choice. maybe a yellow lab. those are great dogs."

at some point, riley gives us his impassive stare and boscoe lifts his head and looks at us. usually he raises one of his beige eyebrows, and you can practically hear him say, hel-LO! i'm sitting right here! i'm in the room! i'm still here!

but that's the thing about having a dog. even in jest, even in a lighthearted way, you spend a certain part of his life preparing for his demise.