Saturday, April 23, 2016

Relax. Exhale. Stop Apologizing.


This afternoon we attended a surprise 50th birthday party for a very special lady. Yes, I left the confines of my safety zone and socialized. With people. Lots of people. I hated leaving the kids, but I knew we wouldn't be gone long and would return home before dark.

There were 2 pups at the party. We brought a bag of our biscuits. These pups are super sweet, playful and I could have easily distanced myself from the humans, parked my ass in the center of the lawn and spent the entire afternoon with them. However, instead, I forced myself to linger amid the crowd and socialize a wee bit.

The pups totally had my undivided attention though.

About an hour after we arrived, the host of the party, another fantastic lady who we absolutely adore, asked our opinion. Should she confine the pups indoors for the duration of the party. Without hesitation, Lisa and I said, "No!" The pups were exceptionally friendly, welcomed everyone who arrived and didn't display any behavior that could be misinterpreted.

In a nutshell, if anyone had a problem with the pups, it was simply because they weren't "dog people." 

For the majority of the afternoon, I stood back from the crowd. Played with the pups. Observed human nature. I instantly spotted the ones who weren't "dog people." I caught a few people looking rather disgusted when I shared my food with the pups from the fork I was eating with. I caught sight of a few shooing the pups away.

The glares. The disapproval. The ones who felt the pups should have been confined to the indoors for the duration of the party. The people I would never invite to our home because of the obvious.

These are the times when I wonder if the mind frame would have been similar had the pups been "human kids."

I've attended parties in the past when young children were present. They had very little manners. They interrupted constantly. The parents were distracted and, often times, had to be away from the guests. And, the guests had to watch what they said. It was awkward.

However, not once did I witness a guest shoo the kid/s away, give a look of disapproval or make snarky comments because the parents didn't find a babysitter.

Not. Once.

Although slightly unconventional, here's my take. When you invite us over, please don't worry about your fur-kids. If they jump on us, that's okay. If they leave muddy paw prints on our clothes, that's okay. If they sit at our feet and make cute little noises while we eat, that's okay too. If they want to sit on our lap and leave a trial of pup hair on our clothes, we're okay with that. If they slobber or drool on our clothes, no problem.

Relax. Exhale. Stop apologizing.

If we're visiting you, we are already aware you have fur-kids. We like you. We like your fur-kids too. Please don't gate them in a separate room. Ever.

Unless, of course, you see fit because they don't like strangers and there's a chance they would bite us. You know best and we respect that.

The pups at the party stayed outdoors the entire time, mingling with the guests. That made me happy.

Some, not so much.

Oh well.





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