Dog sitting. by violet

J.P. and I often talk about getting a dog. It seems like everywhere we go we see dogs. We meet dogs, we pet dogs. We plan and the scheme.

Then we remember that we live in a townhouse with no real yard. And you see, J.P. and I want a large, active breed of dog. And I just can’t see our hypothetical border collie taking too kindly to being cooped up in our house for 10 hours stretches every day.

But this doesn’t really stop the wanting.

When Melissa and Chris asked us to dog sit their Gracie we said absolutely. Gracie is an adorable black lab mix with a tendency to lick just about anything that moves. We’ve had her for just under a week and she goes home to her real parents tomorrow.

She’s been a lovely house guest; you can’t help but love her. She a complete sweetheart and is so well-behaved that your dog life is pretty easy.

However there’s now a coat of black hair over just about everything in our place. Including a chair in the living room that she’s not allowed to sit on but does anyway when we are gone. We are also both sleep-deprived because she needs to be let out at ungodly hours of the morning. There’s also the licking. She especially loves to you lick when you are fresh out of the shower. Or in the middle of the night right across your forehead. I don’t even want to talk about the cleaning up after part either. It’s just too gross to even discuss.

I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining; this is pretty standard dog stuff. It’s not all long walks and chew toys. And like I said, she’s lovely and low key but she’s also, still a dog.

So while part of me is sad to see her go, another larger part of me is looking forward to having our routine back. Sleeping until the alarm goes off, smelling like my body wash instead of dog breath and sweeping up after my own pita chip crumbs.

It’s been lovely having you Gracie. You are welcome back anytime but just for visits.

Violet in Steve Madden Tuscaan