Pup 13: Tony

May 30–31, 2006

I’m like that guy who picks up some floozie at the bar while his wife is in labor.

As Stella was being spayed at the vet, I went to Milo to see if any hounds needed a single night of love. I was so lonely. All I wanted was a little companionship.

I’d just finished reading an article about how black dogs are least likely to find new homes, so my newly enlightened heart went out to Tony, a muscular, blue-tongued lab mix.

He is a sweet but unruly boy. The cats have no awareness that they used up at least one of their lives last night.

Upon the dawning of a new day, I see the lesson of Tony was twofold:

  • Don’t choose your partners based on something you’ve read.
  • Don’t leap into a one-night situation just because your loved one is away.

The whole time Tony was here, I missed Stella. All morning I tried to erase the evidence of his visit: I vacuumed, I washed Stella’s bed where he’d slept, and I tried to mask the scent of his pee stains.

But when Stella came home, she knew. She gave me that look: “I’m so disappointed in you.”

I’ve been trying to convince her that he didn’t mean anything to me, that it was just one of those things. But I think it’s going to take time and some canned dogfood.