Woman’s Best Friend
The feeling of your dog snuggling up next to you is unmatched, in my opinion. I come home for a lot of reasons, but to get a fix of my Winnifred is among the top three. When the pandemic started, I was abroad in Guatemala. When my mom decided it was time for me to come home, I asked, kind of jokingly, if I could get a dog. “Absolutely not,” was her response. “How about a fish?” I asked. She rolled her eyes and thought that was the end of it. I made a whole spreadsheet and presentation outlining different breeds, prices, locations… I went the distance. She started to cave. The ending of this story is that I have my dog Winnie curled up next to me, and my mother loves her to death.
Winnie came to school with me my senior year at Lafayette. I grew used to and loved people saying hi to her first and me second. She became my fierce protector from college boys and mean girls, and accompanied me everywhere, from the neighborhood coffee shop to the backyards of frat houses. In turn, I became her fierce protector too, making sure chocolate and vitamins were put away, and spoiling her rotten with toys and long walks ending at the park with the zoomies.
Moving to New York without her was a really hard decision, but I made it for her. She has a big yard and a brother she loves, as well as grandparents who race her to the emergency vet when she gets into a bottle of Advil without hesitation. But when I come home and she snuggles right up against me on the couch, her head resting on my knee, and when I wake up in the morning to essentially being the big spoon in bed, I question whether she could survive the big city. She’s certainly a diva… maybe she’d be okay.
(Don’t worry, Mom. I’m not stealing her back just yet).
The Bam Cam 