Email to my husband.

from: Alice
to: Ryan
date: Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 10:54 AM
subject: You can't have a poodle.

I had a dream last night that we (including Jeeves) were wandering around in some big city. There were lots of stray dogs. There was a little brown dog that started following us around. You found a piece of twine and tied it to the dog and we brought it home - we were living in the big, nameless city in a 3 room apartment. All 3 rooms were living rooms and over filled with old, 70's-80's ish furniture. Things like dusty old futons with Indian wood cut print cover sheets loosely draped over them. There were lots of wood, lot of rugs and a large, old desktop computer. We were getting ready for a party. I was trying to find the new dog to show to some people only to discover another, different dog. This one was a gray miniature poodle cross. I found you and asked you where the brown dog was and you said you'd taken it back and found this one instead. I was furious with you. For one thing, I thought it was awful to bring the dog home and then just let it go and for another I did not want a poodle. I told you these things and you told me I didn't have any good reasons for not wanting a poodle, implying that it was just my snobbery. I started listing all the reasons I didn't want one - their hair doesn't stop growing, so you must cut it or have it cut, which costs money, they get really filthy and gross and need a lot of bathing, I didn't want small dogs...etc. You said that you would take charge of all the grooming and bathing. When you said that, I looked at the dog and it was wearing its hair in a little top knot held in place by a bow - which you had done to prove to me that you were going to do all the grooming necessary. I couldn't stop feeling awfully for the little brown dog and couldn't make you understand how reprehensible I thought 'replacing' it was.

The dream ended with me watching you play with the poodle on the floor and telling me I would grow to love it. At that point I could see that it wasn't all poodle, it had a bit of spaniel in it. And the more I looked at it, the more it looked like a black spaniel.