Call 'Em Mutts

Blogging Friends.... If you have not already figured this out, I am a shameless advocate of mixed breed canines and mutt adoption on my Blog!! I'm unapologetic, really!! Why? Because I share my existence with a certain Beautifully Unique "Mystery Dog", named Rose!! And I love and celebrate her every second of the day!! Plus, based upon personal observation, seemingly nobody owns mongrels!! But that is just what I have seen.... So, twice monthly, I will be expressing my feelings regarding anything mixed breed!! But do not desert me, dear Friends, because of this one Blog post. Please. There will be plenty of stories to come!!

I do not enjoy evading the truth about things. Like my learning disabilities. I live with short-term memory loss and Attention Deficit Disorder. They are such a vast part of who I am as an individual, yet so well concealed from onlookers that I feel like I've got some superhero's Secret Identity!! Seriously. Tiptoeing around the truth is, quite frankly, not my style. And this mindset doesn't stop when it involves mixed breed canines!! Nope!! I prefer to, as Dennis Quaid's character, Jimmy Morris from Hollywood's "The Rookie" so straightforwardly declared: "call 'em like I see 'em." Yesterday, I was walking Rose, my youngest brother alongside me. Our neighbor had been up to his elbows in oil and grease, as he worked on some car. A noisy contraption was suddenly operated. So we crossed our street to reach the other side. Which, to Rose, is always a new adventure!! Because I seldom ever walk my little girl on the opposite end of our cul-de-sac!! Her wet black nose is allowed to investigate urine-marked locations on bushes, green grass, and fences, in places like never before!! "Pee-mail".... This is quite the privilege.... For a dog!! Three of our neighbors, Gary, Pat, and Cheryl were chatting together. Immediately, we became a part of their circle, which was neat!! They each have a long history in our cul-de-sac, mentioning names of people who used to reside here years ago. The three acted like long-lost old friends!! Gary and Pat's adult son owns this beautiful canine. He and his dog visit frequently in a white pick-up truck. I had been long wondering what kind of canine Gary and Pat's son owns. So I asked. She is a mixed breed!! Of, what, I do not remember!! And this pretty girl looks like an Australian Shepherd with black/tan markings!! But I knew that she was not a purebred!! I knew.... With that, I replied: "I thought she was a mutt!!" My voice carried this strong sense of vehemence. And then, Cheryl, who does not even own any pets, scolded, half jokingly, "Don't say 'mutt'. You'll hurt its feelings!!" What?! Has "mutt" become some forbidden word, an offensive four-letter, one-syllable word, mostly to people, like "retard" is in the Special Needs world? Not that I am equating these two. Trust me. I am not!! "Retard" isn't even in my vocabulary!! It never has been!! But.... Mutt? Over two years ago, I met this woman on some local elementary school playground. It was a Sunday afternoon, hardly anybody there. She had three large-sized dogs and daughter with her. I greeted and pet these canines. Asked what kind of dogs they were. The woman answered. They were mixed breeds!! I then responded with this declaration: "I love mutts!!" I love mutts. As soon as those words exited my lips, the woman shot me a sheepish glance, like she was telepathically mimicking Cheryl's "Don't say 'mutt'. You'll hurt its feelings!!". Really?! I own a mutt. Her name is Rose. I do not own some pedigree purebred, that's for certain!! I don't share my existence with a wanderlust, "talkative" Beagle!! No. I own a mutt. By choice, thank-you!! I own a "Mystery Dog", with definite Beagle within her DNA!! I actually prefer to use the term: "mixed breed", mainly because "mutt" is slang. But, honestly? I do not enjoy evading any truths about the fact that Rose is a mutt!! A mutt. A mutt. A mutt!! I say this loud and proud, as though I'm shouting it from atop some high mountain!! Rose is special. Irreplaceable in every way imaginable!! Rose is a Beautifully Unique mutt!! And I would not have it any other way!!