Skip to main content

It's Just a Little Puppy



There are a lot of things I said I wouldn't do in my life that I've done. I said that I wouldn't quit exercising regularly after I stopped playing sports, that I wouldn't be a hack writer all of my life, and that I wouldn't be working a part-time job at 27 with two useless college degrees. Luckily these are things I can still change.

This weekend I will do something that I can’t undo. When my wife and I go home for Christmas, we will choose one of these four puppies:



Having a dog isn't that big of a deal. Having a dog live IN my house is a big deal for me. You see, I like a neat and clean house. Being married and cleaning up after two people has required enough adjusting. A puppy living inside will challenge the very core of inner neat freak. I’m also allergic to a plethora of things. Dogs? I have no idea—I will find out shortly.

With that in mind, here’s a list of things concerning my dog that I will NOT DO:

1. Let it live in my house. 

1. Buy it clothes. Admittedly my wife and I did look at some doggie (is this a politically correct term for dogs?) clothes the other day, but we realized how crazy we were acting. Plus, I’d want to buy it a polo and my wife doesn't like polo shirts on girls.

2. Let it sleep on my bed. No way, no how. My bedroom is my haven. I like to keep bedroom free of any kind of clutter or mess. Unlike my wife, I don’t do homework or anything that stresses me in my room. My bed is my ultimate place of comfort and rest. Sorry, puppy, you’ll have your own bed, which won’t be in my room either.

3. Give it my last name. We actually have a name picked out, but I’m keeping it a secret for now. Anyway, the puppy can have a first name, three middle names, and 10 nicknames for all I care, but we aren't calling it Puppy Cooper. Why? I don’t know. Just…because.

4. Let it in family photos. This shouldn't be difficult since I haven’t been in a family photo since this:



(Admire that mustache. It’s awesome. Why don’t people grow mustaches anymore? When did mustaches go out of style? I think I may grow one after Christmas for the new, productive me in 2013.)

Oh, and the puppy can’t be in my family photos because it will make me even less cute. And I don’t need any help being less cute. Of course, maybe it could help distract people with its cuteness from my ugliness…hmm (this list won’t last long at this rate).

5. Write a blog about my dog or post an obscene number of photos of it on Facebook or Instagram. I mean, who does that?

Don't worry: I'll be a great puppy father.

6. Refer to the puppy as my child.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Love this Jacob. This lady told her daughter Kristie "I have lived fifty years without a dog in my house and I'm not going to start that now." Guess this helps me relate to your above entry. See you guys in a few days, would love to see the puppy and hear what you name it.


Anonymous said…
It seems I did something wrong, certainly not the first time.

Popular posts from this blog

Guess Who's Back?

Not to get sentimental, but I was recently reminded of the joys of writing a blog. So, I logged into Dribbling Ink to see my past failed attempt at a blog. A number of things immediately struck me. My last post was dated Monday, December 1, 2008 , which was just a short video of the immediate celebration after the Miracle on Markham II. Seriously? I went an entire year without writing a single blog entry. Naturally, I asked myself what happened. The answer is simple. Life happened. I started blogging because I didn’t have anything better to do. I had just gotten married and moved to Arkadelphia, where I failed to find a job for a few months. Tell me a better way to waste your time than to write blogs that nobody reads? After Christmas I started graduate school at Henderson State University . During the fall, I began working as a graduate assistant in the HSU Writing Center . (I also spent a few torturous months as a substitute teacher.) Essentially, I didn’t have a reason to w...

Conversations: An Optimistic Razorback Fan

Caption: Your optimistic dad cheering for the Razorbacks. No offense to baby Chase, but the magic is gone. Yep, it’s time for another classic Arkansas drought. As an avid sports fan, I understand that there will always be ups and downs no matter how good the team is you are rooting for. As much as my wife would hate to admit it, even the Kansas Jayhawks have lost a game this season—the funny thing about that loss is it’s the only Kansas game we made a point to watch all year. Luckily, Arkansas ’ losing streak is exactly what An Optimistic Razorback Fan wanted to talk about in this week’s installment of the Dribbling Ink Conversation Series. An Optimistic Razorback Fan: OK, since losing is a part of sports, I should be able to cope with the Razorbacks’ newest losing streak. Right? You win some, you lose some? Plus, we still have a chance of finishing .500 and going to the NIT. Jacob Cooper: Wrong. Let’s look at Kansas ’ loss to Tennessee earlier in the year. Since the Jayha...

Home, 257 Miles Away

Go ahead, ask: Where are these pictures from and why are they important? Easy. My parents' new house and...because they are of my parents' new house. OK, easy enough for me, but you're still wondering why they are important to you or, at least, why you should bother wasting your time looking at them. The only answer I have is because we are all products of environment, whether it's our house or our hometown. There are three things that have undoubtedly shaped me: family, Arkansas, and "home." The first is easy enough to understand. When I say Arkansas, I am specifically referring to Paragould, Arkansas, and more generally to the South. However, in this blog I'd like to talk about "home," in which case I am referring both to a physical dwelling and the environment I grew up in. The pictures featured below are taken from my parents' sixth new house, the first since I moved out a few years ago (of course, I only lived in the fifth house a few mo...