Dating Guys with Pets: Home Turf Advantage
Chyna & Sable Hewlett | Photo by Derek Hewlett
“So Kamal, when are you going to get a dog of your own? This is the second time you’ve reached out for animal advice and I think you should bite the bullet and become a full-time owner.”
“Gus, the jury is still out on that one but in the meantime I’m content with seeing Peanut whenever I can. So tell me, why won’t this dog crap in my backyard and is it something I should be worried about?”
“Before I tell you, promise me that you’ll come out for Pasta for Pets. It’s a great fundraiser for Washington Animal Rescue League happening March 19th at Eastern Market. I’ll send you the invite on Facebook.”
“Okay, I’ll look into it. That may actually be good carbo-loading for a St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock race that weekend.”
“Cool. So, I think what’s going on is that your dog has been trained to not poop on its own home turf, and she recognizes her turf as being the house and the backyard.”
“That makes sense. You know, Scotty mentioned that she doesn’t go in his backyard.”
“Exactly! You know it’s really a sign of how good Peanut’s training is, and that’s why she won’t go in your house or backyard. If you forced her to go in the backyard, you run the risk of upsetting her training and you definitely don’t want to do that.”
“Good to know Gus.”
“No problem Kamal. I gotta run but here’s another tidbit of information to consider: if you’re dating a dog owner, there will come a time when you’re going to have to pick up the poop. Ciao!”
Click. I sipped on more of my coffee as I slowly pondered Gus’ words.
He was right of course. There was going to come a time when Peanut and all of her cute ephemeral ways would come crashing soundly to Earth; and it would be up to me with plastic baggie in hand to take care of it.
I liked Scotty and I definitely liked Peanut, but would I be ready for that kind of commitment when the time came or would I freak out and potentially hurt Scotty’s feelings? Well, there is certainly one way to find out: I need to take Peanut for a walk.
To be continued…
