I knew the moment that I smelled her coming in the back door of our office building that she was the dog for me. Doc wouldn’t let me meet her at the door, so I waited in the office with nervous anticipation. When the time came for our first encounter, I couldn’t believe my eyes. She was the cutest dog that I had ever seen. Her name was Millie and I was in love at first sight.
Doc and Millie’s human Kate, decided it would be best if we met outside so we could do the traditional dog smelling thing that canines do. After all, I did need some more information before taking the relationship to the next level. I thought I was giving Millie all of my best moves, but when I went over to sniff her, she tucked her tail between her legs and walked away. I couldn’t figure out what went wrong. About an hour later, I ran into her in the hall and tried to let her know I wanted to play and even laid down on the floor to let her know I was being submissive to her. I let out two short barks vocalizing my love for her. It didn’t work. This time she growled at me and ran back into her human’s office and hid behind the chair. Doc just shook her head.
Later in the day, I heard Millie in the hall, so I ran out of the office without permission and cornered her, determined to win her love. Millie nipped me! That really got my attention. Doc came running down the hall and said “Grover, your behavior is starting to border on stalking, leave Millie alone.” She knew that I felt scorned, so she knelt down, kissed me on the nose and said, “Grover I don’t want you to become the kind of dog that keeps trying to win over puppies that reject you, that’s not healthy. One day the right dog will come along that loves you just the way you are, so don’t settle.”
I understood what Doc meant, but it still hurt. I guess the poet Abraham Cowley said it best ” Of all the pain, the greatest pain, it is to love, but in vain.”
My Dearest Grover,
In response to your Rejected Love post, I must say, I am quite flattered. However, I think its best that we just remain as friends. It’s not you… It’s me… I think… My human says that I need to be less of a snot and have a more of an inviting personality. But i just don’t see the point. I have never been good with others, (in fact, just the other day my human told a good friend of hers she couldn’t bring her dog because I am overly protective of her little furless pup she just had and tend to get a little nippy towards others)… Some might even call it social anxiety.
Anyway, I ponder on that day often. Your strong build and goofy gait attracted me, but ya came on a little too strong buddy. I guess I was caught off guard. My human talks about you often and comes home smelling like you all the time. I’m torn between a constant reminder of that traumatic day and my humans yearning for us to be an item.
Be free my sweet friend, be free. But my advice to you for your next love interest: When her body language says ‘please dont sniff my but anymore’… Just stop 🙂 Maybe in the future when I am not such a stuck up snobby sheltie we may have a chance. But please dont wait for me, I cant feel responsable for your heart ache.
Love always (not really, my human just said I need to say that to be polite),
Millie Sue