Caninarcissism & Related Anecdote

I recently read in Real Simple that when you hear someone utter the phrase "enough about me, let's talk about you!" you're in the presence of a true narcissist.

I think blogging requires mild levels of narcissism, or at least an abandonment of any false modesty (much more comfortable to admit).

So, I will confess to being guilty of traditional narcissism of all kinds, but my latest affliction has been saying "enough about my dog, let's talk about you," which I am going to diagnose as caninarcissism. This post, I'm afraid, is one of many that will be about our little eskimo wolf-dog.

She is now 20 pounds, nearly twice as big as when we first got her. She can sit and come when called, and waits at the door now when she needs to go out, though she hasn't quite mastered why she ought to go out.

Husband and I have discovered a dog clique in the large park nearby where we exercise her, a group of 7-10 people who meet every evening to let their dogs "socialize." Una is the new pretty girl, and we have noticed that everyone leaves fairly soon after we arrive. We haven't figured out yet whether we've committed some sort of pet-owner's faux pas, or whether Una just outshines all the other dogs. Wow; we are going to be obnoxious parents some day!

Yesterday morning in the park I was walking Una and I saw a woman with two scary beasts on leashes who were challenging her authority. For good reason: she was hitting them with the objects in this photo.