standing feature
last word
Doggie love… and no, that’s not “doggie style.” It is a dimension existing amongst many blended northern families, boyfriends, girlfriends and their respective doggie-children. When Josh and I got together, his dog, Chloe, was presented with a change in … well, bed-position. This meant that she was quickly and unceremoniously relegated to the end of the bed. In effect, she was deposed to second-in-command, no longer qualifying for the best spot in the boudoir.
Before the first date is even out of the way, however, you have to ask yourself: Does he like dogs? Will Nanook get along with Josh? Will Chloe compete with Caroline? Are you allergic to Grommet? (Mercy). I mean, will the relationship really work? As you can appreciate, this is complicated stuff. It seems that in order to enter the united territory of northern B.C., you must possess a doggy license. No, not for Fido, but for yours truly.
In our experience living in Prince George over 15 years, one notable feature has struck us as very consistent – dogs. What is it about these furry, barkaholic, tail-wagging, face-licking, poop-generating mutts that is so special? Well, in a word—plenty.
For instance, you can recognize a fellow northerner by the way he or she greets another person’s dog. When conversing with a friend in the Tim Horton’s parking lot (sometime between a cross-country ski event and the video store), pooch characteristically rams his nose deep into her crotch.
The true northerner deftly turns his or her pelvis, while neatly swiping the dog’s nose aside. Not losing the thread of the conversation—not for a moment.
But silliness aside, the cult of dog ownership is a compelling reality of living here. Dogs come in many forms. Like the collie in your neighbour’s back yard barking at anything moving, or the gum-flapping black lab in the forestry consultant’s pick-up. And of course, let’s not forget the teeny poodle, or is it a bichon frise (who but obsessive compulsive show judges can tell the difference), perched atop the old guy’s steering wheel? Naturally, he is driving a Dodge one-ton 4×4 (with duallies). The truth? It is a naturally occurring and inverse relationship—the bigger the truck the smaller the dog.
Like their southern, urban counter-parts, northern couples wake up in the morning after a Friday night of partying, hacking hair out from the back of their throats. A night of love perhaps? (Who would confess?) However, it is far more likely that a long Saturday morning of coffee and doggie-cuddling under the fluffy duvet has been the culprit. Now that’s love. Doggie love.
It worked out in our family but I would suggest many blended northern families run a significant risk of not working out. And when the lines between owner and spouse, alpha male and boyfriend become blurred, northern dog owners have one thing in common: they will always remain loyal to dog—not spouse. Indeed, very little in the north—not Timbits, hunky men, or gorgeous women—can get in the way of true doggie love, where three is almost always a crowd.
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