Puppy love

Rowan loves dogs. Does she do this just to torture me? I had plenty of pets growing up. Dogs, cats, a bird at one point, gerbils or hamsters, even mice I think. Am I remembering this right? Also lambs, although at the end of the year they were eaten. So...maybe you can't count those. But still. The point is I have taken care of animals. Chris, meanwhile, has never had a pet in his life. This makes him think of it with longing...and not much realism. I love having a house with no pet hair, no pet smell. I love not having to feed and water and clean up after yet another living thing.

But Rowan loves dogs. I can see this getting out of hand. She can't even talk in sentences yet, but "dog" was like her second word. And by far her most used word at this point. Followed only by "car" which makes me worry because it reminds me of her Uncle Blake, but I digress. She points out every dog in the neighborhood, and some days I feel like there are more dogs than people around here. She follows them. She kicks and screams and lies down on the ground and cries when they walk away from her, or when I stop her from getting too close.

The other day when we were getting ready to go for a walk a neighbor stopped by to say hello, and her dog is a really sweet 12 year old golden retriever. Rowan was in love. Good thing the dog was gentle, because Rowan got friendly.

I do not want a dog, damn it. How long before she realizes that we could have one of our own if she convinced me?