Sweater Boy

During our Christmas trip to Virginia, Moose had the chance to run with a pack. There was Seven, the Italian Greyhound, Bagel the Beagle, plus Lilly and Sandy. I would tell you the other dog breeds, but unless they are really obvious, like Dachshund or German Shepherd or Chihuaha, frankly, I just can’t keep them straight. It’s kind of like identifying cars when I was young – there were vans, station wagons, Corvettes and everything else. And by young, I of course mean “until about last month.” And the only reason I know about Italian Greyhounds is because best gal pal Stacy had one.

But back to Moose. His new dog buddy Seven gave Moose a sweater – a smart looking green and charcoal knitted piece. The gift was transacted through a human – Paul, the Cesar Milan of the Virginia Beach pack. Moose frolicked in his new sweater with the other dogs. He seemed proud. Confident. Wade commented that Moose now looked like the breed of overly styled young men obsessed with fashion and grooming. You know, a Metrosexual. And indeed, he does.

For Christmas, Paul gifted Moose and Seven with matching orange and brown sweaters. Twin Metrosexuals. And I didn’t get a photo of the sweater boys. Errrrr.

Last Thursday, I was bored. Wade was working. I was too lazy to deal with the real life tasks like laundry and housecleaning, so instead, I decided to take Moose for a little ride. It was too late to go to a park, so we went to PetSmart, where it turned out the sweaters were on sale for half off. And they had dozens of styles, which I got to study because Moose kept crawling under the rack and knocking the stuff from the lowest rack onto the floor. I think he was nervous about the large barking dog at the front of the store and was trying to hide, but that is just my best human guess. And I became swept up in the excitement of dog sweaters, so Moose now has a smart looking gray and red sweater (my high school colors!) with a subtle cable pattern. Oh, and the same sweater in navy and green. Half-off, remember? That means you can buy twice as much, right?

Evidently, I have transferred the fruits of my previous recreational shopping affinity to the dog. Once upon a time, before grad school, photography, stained glass, jewelry, World of Warcraft or belly dance, I shopped for something to do. It was my way of avoiding dealing with an unruly husband and a miserable marriage. I would buy things I couldn't afford and that didn’t fit just so I could go out a day or two later to return them (I needed something to look forward to). If I found something I really liked that came in multiple colors, instead of making a decision, I’d buy the same item in two (or more) colors. ‘Cuz if one is good, two or three are better, right? Which is why I had the same sweater dress in black, olive and camel.

So, you see where the dog’s sweater collection is coming from, right? Soon he’ll need his own dresser or closet (and the house will need an addition to accommodate it), because shopping for dog stuff is quite possibly my new way to avoid doing the stuff I should really be doing. Stuff like organizing the house, tagging products for sale at my space at Artifacts, laundry, setting up my stained glass bench in the recently partially organized basement, finishing organizing the recently partially organized basement, making jewelry, etc., etc. But my little boy needs sweaters, because even though we live in the South, it still gets danged cold.