The dogs again

Once again, a dog on a street made me sort of sad tonight.

Now, I'll admit, I've been sort of gloomy lately. Partly because of a whole mishegoss that happened yesterday with a friend...someone who is mentioned on this site occasionally, in fact. I won't say who or what - she knows what happened! In fact, I'd like to pause for a moment right now just to make her feel a little bit guilty.

PAUSE

Ok.

So, I had dinner tonight at my favorite Upper East Side place, and, as I was heading home, I was crossing First, and this guy was coming towards me, walking a little chihuahua. Now, I'm normally not a huge fan of chihuahuas. They always seem so nervous and buggy eyed, but this was a puppy, and how can you not love a puppy? And it was so friendly; it sort of went up on its hind paws to lean toward me as we passed, literally in the middle of First Avenue. And the owner said, “Come on, Buddy.” I don't know if that was his name or just what he called it. But, anyway, it was clear the little guy had a good home.

Not 30 seconds later, I passed a dog tied up to a parking meter outside the C-Town on First. It was a husky/shepherd mix, a few years old, and sort of thin. I don't know if it was supposed to be that thin, but it looked very lonely there. I just don't know how anyone can leave a dog tied up on the busy streets of Manhattan while they go grocery shopping for, what, 20 minutes?

Not to mention, sometimes I see homeless guys with a dog in a shopping cart. Oy. Talk about heart break.

And, yes, I know I should be sad that the guy is homeless, but he sort of has a choice. The dog doesn't.

Anyway, as I passed this C-Town dog, I thought, well, why is he not having such a good life as that little chihuahua? They're both the same species, both innocent of any crime or evilness - why does one have a good life, and one doesn't.

But I guess that's life in general. Why does a baby born in a hellhole like Darfur have to live like that, while another baby, born in Greenwich, CT, lives a pampered life.

Damn dogs. Making me realize, yet again, how fucked up we all are on this planet.

And, yes, I did have a few glasses of pinot noir with dinner - that always gets me wacky and philosophical.

Not to mention how sad I was anyway, after what happened yesterday. Did I mention that already? The mishegoss? The sadness? From a friend?

Yes?

Thank you.