The World's Only Dog

Outside a couple walks their dog under umbrellas and I think how rare it is. To see two people, man and woman, walking one dog. And maybe it's just me and where I live. I see a girl walking I think, There's a girl walking her dog. I see a guy and it's, There's a guy walking his girlfriend's dog. In my mind every girl owns a dog and every dog is owned by a girl. The boyfriends are extensions.

And I've come to think that's what they want anyhow. Girls, that is. If they can't get a boyfriend they'll get a dog, and if they have a dog they'll get a boyfriend, and then the boyfriend can walk the dog, and everything will be full of love. I do not understand how a girl can see any dog and react as though it is the first dog she has ever seen. That it is the world's only dog. That never before has something been small and furry and walked on four legs. That is most animals.

We are too positive, too friendly, too nice, too encouraging, and I'm quite certain most of it is false. It is empty, it means nothing. You post a status, you like a picture, you tell everyone they're beautiful and it's so easy. It's what's hip, it's a pair of shoes, it's a puppy in a bag. And it's a trivial way to deal with people's lives.