Who's the distinguished-looking gent with a fresh haircut and a black mitten on his paw?
You might be thinking it's a Michael Jackson impersonator, but it's me.
Close observers will notice that in a touch of either whimsy or confusion, my owner put the mitt on my left paw, though the sore we're trying to protect is on my right paw.
Willy has a pumpkin costume.
He seems to enjoy wearing it, maybe because it's made of soft velour.
It takes a dog with a healthy measure of self-confidence to carry off this look successfully.
Which Willy obviously does.
Sometimes the world can seem so cruel.
When I arrived at the bluffs last night I saw Dolce and Max playing together. Black and white, ebony and ivory, perfect harmony.
I looked at their owners. Dressed in black and white, they matched Max and Dolce, and incidentally coordinated with one another as well.
Then I looked at my owner. Pink and olive. A terrible match for my fur. And obviously not coordinated with the other owners either.
It's hard enough being a dog who's not great at playing wrestling games or running after balls. Why do I also have to have the misfit parent?
Sure, it's all in my own head. But it's still hard to be the dog who doesn't fit in.
I turned away and walked over to the edge of the bluffs, away from the pink and olive, black and white.
I drank deeply of the ocean breeze and thought of my dinner waiting for me at home.
I thought of all the dogs who don't have dinner waiting, and of all the dogs whose owners are worse-dressed than mine.
I thought about how much my owner loves me, and I decided that maybe it was time for us to go home together and investigate the dinner situation.
Things went very well with my haircut and bath. I feel sleek as a mink.
Next time, though, I'm going to ask them not to make me too pretty. I ripped off the yellow bow the second I got out of there.
The flirty eyelashes are also going to have to go. They're obscuring my vision.
I met some young ladies at the bluff. I was dazzled by their beauty and their sandals.
They were deep in conversation and texting, but they welcomed me and we exchanged pleasantries.
I was not part of their world, but they were temporarily part of mine. And that's the magic of the bluffs.
Crystal went a little too short this time. She scraped the bridge of my nose. And I fancy I see a stripe along my left side.
Caught up with the guys at the bluffs.
