Welcome to the ninth post of the Great Writing Challenge of 2012.
Five days a week for six months, I will be given a topic to write about. The stipulation: it must be 250 words (or more), and positive in tone.
If you would like to suggest topics for me to write about, please email me at TheRebeccaProject [at] gmail [dot] com.

Post #9: Puppies! (Post 1 of a zillion)

Today, I spent a lovely day hiking the hills in Marin with Mary and puppies Patrick and Charlie. It was a beautifully clear day, and surprisingly warm: amazing weather for winter. There were numerous times on the trail where it as not marked, or poorly marked. So what did we do? We pulled out the iPhone and Google Mapped it. For most of the walk, we could see the city, and the top of the Golden Gate, so we were not super worried. But it just made me think about how we rely and turn to technology, instead of going to visit the Visitors’ Centre to pick ourselves up a map.

So anyhoo, Patrick and Charlie were very well-behaved (hurrah for nice puppies!), and both Mary and myself oogled every dog that walked past us on the trail… which leads me to today’s topic: Puppies!

At dinner the other day, my friend, Carolyn, told me how she found her three-legged cat, Lord Nelson, on Petfinder.com. Agh! How could I not have known this site existed?! My puppy brain even sent my colleague last week the link to Howie D, a dachshund in Fremont seeking adoption, instead of the intended link to a Lexis Nexis search. Really, Bec?

I am pining for a puppy with such increasing ferocity, it’s quite alarming. However, in our current living situation, a puppy is a no-go. And I know that. The American even wrote a song about it (which,obviously, is my favourite song he has ever written):

“Puppy sale / Why do you look at me that way when you know / There is nothing I can do for you now / You’ll just have to wait a little while longer / And then maybe we can see…
It doesn’t mean I don’t feel the same as you / It’s just that I don’t think the time is cool / But if there’s a way someday I swear / that’s what we’re gonna do.”

—  ‘Puppy Sale’, by The Dhalies

I have very specific rules about what I deem appropriate behaviour for puppies. And it’s unrealistic. The American knows that and rolls with the punches. Me? Absolutely not. I realise when/if we adopt a puppy, there’s bound to be some compromises, a lot of cleaning up and I’ll need to learn infinite patience. But I cannot and will not have the dog in bed. Couch? Fine. But the dog will know that I am the one in charge and I am impervious to cute puppy eyes. I’m an Ice Queen. And I can imagine the American to spoil the puppy rotten when I’m at work, letting it have the run of the house. Sigh.

When I say I want a puppy, I really just want this one.

But the funny thing is that I don’t have the time, apartment or the ability to commit long-term to a puppy. It’s a 15 year commitment, and we can’t commit to what we’re having for breakfast. So what I am really seeking is a timeshare. We can share holiday houses, cars, all sorts of things, but where’s the startup providing timeshare puppies? Get on it, SF!