A Moment in My Life – Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Jeannie Yee Davis
It’s not every day you fall in love. It’s not every day you find that perfect match either. So, was it love at first sight for me? I don’t know for sure, but I know I was overjoyed, and my insides started dancing when Winnie, not the Pooh, pranced towards me and kept playfully jumping on me. That saying that pets choose their masters kept coming to mind. I was one of five people standing in the entranceway of the facility when Winnie came from wherever she came from and headed straight to me as if we knew each other.
She chose me out of the crowd, and I received her affections wholeheartedly, which is a far cry from where I’ve come. There was a time, not so long ago, when I had a massive fear of dogs. It all started when I was a little girl of probably six or so when I remembered running home with this big gigantic barking white shaggy rhinoceros of a dog on my tail. Don’t laugh. As a kid, that dog looked huge, like a rhino. I don’t know if I was afraid of dogs before that day, but I believe that was the catalyst for my fear.
None of you know anything about this because I was a closet fraidy cat. As a young adult, it was embarrassing to admit my fear to anyone. Heaven forbid if I went to someone’s house and there was that rhino again. Although the rhino has shrunken a bit and became less intimidating, it still held the same fear over me. Seeing the four-legged animal still shot my blood pressure up and got my heart racing. I don’t know what it is, but dogs tend to like jumping on me. I know that is an affectionate thing, but not for a fraidy cat. No, no, no. Us, fraidy-cats, don’t want any jumping.
Mark’s family dog, Duchess, which was a mutt of sorts, loved me, and I loved her in our no-touch kind of relationship. We had an understanding. Every time we visited, Duchess would run towards me, but she no longer jumped on me after our understanding. She stopped a yard in front of me, and we made eye contact and did our greetings. She was such an obedient dog that even a fraidy-cat like me loved her to death, but even Duchess scared me at one time when she flew out of the house, heading right towards me and jumping me. That’s enough to freak any fraidy-cat.
I wish my understanding with Duchess could have helped me overcome my fear, making my life easier, but it didn’t. If it did, it would’ve saved me from the embarrassment I experienced one day in my first apartment. I went down to the basement to retrieve my laundry. As soon as I attempted to push open the door, this thunderous yelping accosted me. I quickly pulled the solid wood door closed, raced up the stairs back to my apartment, and called Mark. I asked him if he could come over and help me get my laundry. This is embarrassing, people, but it happened. Mark was such a sweetheart who came right over from his home in Pacifica to my San Francisco apartment. I stayed in the safety of my apartment, letting him brave the rhino downstairs.
When he returned with my laundry basket, he laughed and said the old man asked if his little dog scared a little girl away. Mark added that it was a toy poodle and that the littler the dog, the more noise they made. Well, excuse me, but at the moment, all that noise sounded scarier to a fraidy-cat, mind you.
When I first saw Laine Hardy’s golden doodle Jet, I instantaneously fell in love with Jet and pondered the idea that perhaps I was ready, but I didn’t want any dog. I wanted Jet, which, unfortunately, isn’t going to happen. Then, this Sunday, running into Winnie gave me hope that perhaps one day soon, even though it won’t be my first love, Jet, but maybe it could be someone like a Winnie, not the Pooh.
Jeannie you’re right, some animals pick their person. I noticed Winnie really liked you. I would’ve thought the dog would smell Clarence & Rondel, and be attracted cause they’d have dog smell. Steve’s allergic, so he keeps to himself. He’s not going to pet cat or dog. Sometimes animals sense your behavior when you ignore them. Usually cats love Steve, they might hop on his lap. Winnie pointed you out. It was like the dog knew you.