I Only Like Big Dogs

“I only like big dogs.” The first time I heard this, it came from a neighbor up the road. She saw me going past, quite obviously enjoying a walk with my new shelter puppy and gave a sniff of disapproval, followed by a sort of “hmmpf”. I was stunned by her rudeness — and admittedly, more than a teensy bit irritated. Since then, I’ve actually had several people tell me the same thing, using those exact words, and every single time I’m amazed at their boorishness. Besides being rude, it’s ridiculous. There are dogs for which I have limited fondness — one, because it chased me and nipped my leg when I rode past on my bike, and dogs who growl and show their teeth are scary. But my feelings have never been size or breed specific. I know people who criticize others about hair or clothes or body type and I’ve never liked that either — but to fault a person for the size of their dog? This is a new experience for me. I love big dogs. I also love medium sized dogs and I love small dogs. We’ve had a variety of canines in our lives over the years — dogs of all sizes, sometimes several at the same time. A dog is a dog is a dog. Or as a wise person once told me, “Dog is just God spelled backwards.”

(Photo is Luna, our current small dog, looking appropriately discomfited by this topic )