the dog

Meet "the dog", "nubbie", "nubs" or "fatz". If you know Nate, then you already know "Nubs". Before I met Nate in person he told me about his dog. I could tell he really loved this dog. Nate wanted our first meeting to be a hike in the mountains with his dog. I suggested meeting for lunch without the dog. For one thing many people judge a person based on how their "best friend" reacts to that person. Also, my boss suggested a public place since Nate was still technically a stranger... and a vulnerable girl should not go walking in the mountains with a stranger or his dog.  The idea of a dog made me nervous. I'm not really into animals. I didn't grow up with them. I don't want to pet them and I don't like it when they lick me. I think they are sweet and I respect them, but I don't know how to have a pet. But, here I am 17months later with a dog. He makes up an important part of our developing family. I still don't pet him, unless I wash my hands immediately after, but I love him. He has a way about him.

He follows me everywhere. He sits outside of the bathroom door when I shower. He sleeps at my feet under the table. He follows me upstairs and down. He wakes me up in the morning when he has determined that I have over slept. After a game of fetch with Nate, he runs inside panting... right up to me, as if to tell me all about the great game he just had.  If I sit with Nate during a game of fetch, the dog drops the ball at my feet hoping I will throw the next one... and sometimes I do.  I am probably the leaste deserving of the attention he gives me, but I sure like it.