Howl-OWeenie

At the time that we got our dog Buddy, I only had one rule. That rule was that I would not allow my wife and daughter to dress him in clothes. That’s right, no hats, no shirts, shorts, boots, sun glasses, bow ties and definitely no costumes. I feel that a dog is a regal animal, not some dressup doll to satisfy our human whim to make them into an image of ourselves.

I told them that before dogs became domestic animals, they got along just fine without some human wanting to wrap a knitted scarf around their necks. I was so adamant about it, my wife and daughter actually got mad at me for denying them this one apparent obsession. But they held to the rule, and Buddy remained free of sartorial embarrassment thanks to me.

Then one day in early October, the girls decided to step out, taking Buddy with them. I didn’t think anything of it as I was busy either watching TV or working on our house. The week before Halloween, I noticed an envelope on the kitchen table. Opening it up, I discovered photos of Buddy dressed in a Halloween costume. He was made up to be a turtle. I yelled for the dogdressers to come into the room. Before I could start my lecture, I was barraged with melodic comments on how cute Buddy looked.

I had to admit that he was the cutest looking dog dressed like a turtle that I had ever seen. Late that night, I snuck a picture into my briefcase so I could take it to work for my desk. I also took a picture of it on my smart phone. The next day, I was waiting by the elevator when a sales coworker walked up. She said she was running home to feed her dog. Before I could finish asking what kind of dog it was, she whipped out her iPhone. She immediately showed me a photo of her dog dressed in a Halloween costume.

Instinctively, I got my phone out and proudly showed her Buddy’s turtle picture. As she cooed about it, I suddenly realized that I just turned into a 14-year-old girl. Wow, I’d better review my “man” priorities. Otherwise, before you know it, I’ll be gabbing with the girls about The Real Housewives of Atlanta.