A friend of mine just returned from a four-day international conference in Wales. It wasn’t a gathering of journalism professors (her profession). Nor was it an extended family reunion.
It was a global gathering of owners and supporters of – wait for it – Welsh Terriers.
Yes, that’s right. One of my closest friends in the U.K. just went to a dog conference. One that was replete with guest speakers on Welsh terriers, a special break-out session on how to groom your dog, and even a fancy dress party (for the dogs).
I could barely mask my dismay.
Boxers vs. Briefs
On many of the world’s pressing issues, most people sort neatly into one of two camps: Coke vs. Pepsi. Boxers vs. Briefs. Yankees vs. Mets. At the risk of alienating 90% of my friends and family, I’d like to add another category to this list: pet vs. anti-pet. I don’t think I have to tell you where I fall.
I was reminded of this recently at a neighborhood get-together. We were sitting on someone’s patio, enjoying some cocktails, when a friend pulled up a photo on her phone.
“Guys,” she said, breathlessly. “I can’t wait any longer…”
And sure enough, it wasn’t a picture of her daughter, or her newly remodeled kitchen, or even (God forbid) her husband. It was a picture of the Chocolate Labrador she’d just adopted. In a matter of seconds, everyone followed suit, nodding and cooing over the veritable museum of pooch snapshots emanating from their own iphones.
Everyone, that is, except me.
Read the rest of this post over on Better After 50…
Image: Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash
