It’s official. I’ve become one of those people I once felt sorry for — one of those, you know, “dog people.”

I’ve had three family dogs in my lifetime, but have never taken a liking to any of them quite like Cesar, my black and chocolate striped, hyper-active Boxer. 

I once thought “dog people” were exclusively lonely or loony, until little over a year ago when this innocent, 7 pound “baby” arrived at my house in a tiny cardboard box whimpering for his mother. Ever since then he’s had my heart.

Although I probably have more puppy pictures of my dog than I have baby pictures of my four siblings combined — and I usually make sure Cesar has his “West” monogrammed sweater on in cold weather, while I thoughtlessly leave the house bare-armed — I never realized until a recent trip to the Bonnabel Dog Park how normal and not obsessed I was compared to some dog enthusiasts. In fact, in comparison, you might say I was neglectful.

As Cesar soaked up the sun while sticking his head out of the car on the way to the dog park, I could feel his anticipation rising as we drove up the hill and parked. Once we got in, it was as if we were at a playground. Other dogs ran to greet him, while their owners stared with elevator eyes checking us out.

A minute later, a middle-aged man approached me and said, “How old?” I was completely caught off guard and thought, “I’m way too young for you,” when he proceeded to say, “The golden retriever is mine, he’s eighteen months.” I laughed at the obvious, but also because his dog was not a year and a half, no, he spoke like he was talking about his baby —”eighteen months.”

Within the next hour I spoke with a few other owners who reminded me of why I always thought “dog people” were not working with a full deck of cards. Within that hour I learned more about the benefits of organic dog food, dog health insurance, semi-annual veterinarian check-ups and coat maintenance than I ever cared to know.

Although the owners were as nice as could be and obviously intelligent, I suddenly realized that maybe I’m not a dog person after all -maybe I’m just the proud owner of the best dog ever.
Just sayin’.