Puppy Talk

Few things in this world that can make two complete strangers instantly speak to one another. Under the perfect circumstances, the barriers of regular social norms can be broken, and connect people in surprising ways. I have found from personal experience, that one of these things is a brand new puppy. My boss just bought a seven-week-old fur ball, and ever since, I have been dubbed the official caretaker. This means that every three hours I take it out to the grass and I let it sleep on my lap while I type and answer phones. Since the arrival of the new pup, I have noticed phenomenal things. While walking through campus, I have witnessed strangers stop their daily jog to squat down and speak to the dog in whiney baby voices. I wind up spending 45 minutes on a routine potty break because I have to appease three middle-aged women who must tell me about their own dogs when they were puppies. Then they move on to their children, and husbands, their book club and various brands of dog food. I catch men trying to surpress smiles as they catch sight of the little fluff poking out between my fingers. One woman never actually spoke to me, she directed all of her questions to the dog in a high-pitched voice. I’d never found myself in this situation before, I panicked and decided to take on my own dog-persona, quickly answering all of her questions in my own baby voice, as if I was the dog. This went on for at least five minutes. At least I tried to answer the questions honestly. I don’t know what came over me, and I regret it. But what would you have done?