Friday, May 26, 2006

 

Kids And Dogs

When it comes to kids and dogs, neighborhoods go through transitions. Sometimes there are lots of children and few dogs. Other times there are plenty of pups but not a lot of kids. And sometimes there are few or many of both.

When Sarah was born eleven years ago, our neighborhood was going through one of those transitions. The previous generation’s progeny were long past the kid stage. Sarah was one of only a handful of kids on our street. And dogs were even scarcer.

But as the years went by and houses turned over, younger couples moved in and kids began to pop up like springtime weeds. Now Sarah doesn’t lack for companions and the trend appears to be an upward one.

That same trend seems to now be happening with dogs. Neighbors across the street just acquired a three-year old show beagle named Angus. He’s a miniature version of a regular beagle which seems to mean that he’s half the size of a regular beagle but with twice the energy.

And the latest news is that our immediate neighbors are getting a Shih Tzu, a small black and white ball of fur that, if past experience is any guide, will be a yapper.

Is this evidence of a newly developing demographic for our neighborhood? As with the kiddy boom, are we now destined for a doggy boom? Oreo will doubtless be thrilled but I’m not sure I’ll adjust quite as well.

If and when the street is overrun with canines and kids, I think I’ll graduate to official codger status. Then I can spend my days yelling at all of them to get off the lawn and waiting for the inevitable kid and dog-free stage that will come, by my calculation, in about fifteen years.

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