Friday, August 2, 2013

Is it possible to be too cute?




Well, the summer is fleeting, and, for me, it has definitely been the Summer of Annie. Not much else has been accomplished as our puppy settles into our family.  There is much to do on a daily basis to care for a puppy - 3 meals a day, a couple of walks, some training, some playing, some holding chew toys to stem the chewiness of teething, taking her to the vet, groomer, puppy school, etc.  But she is so worth it.  Her puppy exuberance is delightful, and she is a big, big presence in our lives.

Since we live downtown, we must walk her where there are sometimes a lot of people. When she was smaller (she's now 4 months old and about 12 pounds), we couldn't go more than about two steps without someone stopping us to ask if they could pet our puppy or to tell us (and Annie) how adorable she was.  It was so common that when Annie heard the words "so cute", she actually answered to them by greeting the person who uttered them.  She was so used to being stopped that, if someone walked by without acknowledging her, she would turn around and look at them as if to say "didn't you see how cute I am?"

It actually got tiresome to make so little progress as we were walking.  By the time the twentieth person (and I'm not exaggerating) asked to pet her or what kind of dog she was, I wanted to brush them off but couldn't be that rude.  It made me understand what it must be like to be a celebrity who is constantly barraged by fans seeking a photo or an autograph.  So it made me wonder if there is actually such a thing as being too cute.

Now that Annie is getting older, she isn't stopped quite as much, although we still get a lot of comments as we walk by folks.  I wonder if she is disappointed in the drop in interest.  It also made me think about what it must be like to be a person who is terrifically good looking and how it must feel to be this person as he or she ages.  I personally wouldn't know what this experience is like but for those who trade on their good looks in the early part of their lives, getting older and less attractive must be truly devastating.  Perhaps they, like Annie, think that they were just "too cute" in their good years.

For the first two months we had Annie, all that was required of her was (1) that she look cute and (2) that she pee and poop in the right place.  But now that she's maturing, she is expected to follow commands and actually behave like a good dog.  What a bummer for her but she is slowly accepting that her cuteness will only get her so far now.  I wouldn't say that she is a star pupil in puppy school, but she is coming along.  

All in all, we are happy to have this cuteness in our lives and apologize for boring the non-dog loving readers.