Puppy in the Window

I am not a dog person. Neither is my husband. Actually, we are not cat people either. Or bird people. Or hamster people. Or fish people. I guess you could say we aren’t pet people at all. There are probably many people out there who will make the claim that we are missing out on the greatest companion of a lifetime. We don’t see it that way. When both of us were growing up there were various pets in the family, but neither one of us ever felt that special bond between man and beast that turns the disinterested party into a raving fan of the species for life. In fact, before we got married we talked about pets and we pretty much decided that we would never have any. We didn’t want to get stuck picking up slack for the child who “promised” to take care of the animal and then quickly lost interest.
Our children have never really had experiences with dogs. I know, I know, they are still very young and at their ages there is not much experience to be had anyway. To be honest, I have been trying to keep them away from the canines because they are at such an impressionable age that I fear any bark or licking from these furry friends will negatively impact my young ones for life. I myself am quite hesitant around any furry creatures that make noise or have sharp extremities. It’s just a natural caution that I have which I have never desired to force away.
Imagine my husband’s and my surprise when we were walking through the mall one day with our munchkins. Blue Eyes was sitting in the stroller and The Talker was walking next to her. As we passed the pet shop, the puppies in the window became very excited. They jumped and barked and clawed at the window, wagging their tales in a blurred frenzy. I waited for a moment to see how my son would react, fully prepared to gather his frightened little self into my arms of consolation. To my surprise, he ran right up to the window and touched the glass trying to reach the puppies! He had no fear at all. In fact he was filled with fascination at these active little creatures. We did not linger long, so I am still unsure how he would have proceeded if he were allowed to touch one of them, but his initial acceptance and joy was astonishing to my husband and me.
The event has made me ponder some questions. Are we born with the desire to bond with God’s creatures? Is our fear or apprehension of any animal, therefore, a learned behavior? How does our natural trust in goodness shift so dramatically? How do I foster that natural trust so that it does not diminish with age?
Who knows. There may come a day when my husband and I have to change our minds about being “pet people”…our son might teach us a thing or two.