Last night Tyler had his longtime friend, Shane, sleep over. Shane brought over a cherished stuffed dog, “Queso,” named after the favorite part of his last Mexican meal. It came from The Perfect Toy, he explained, sold separately from a set which included a mother dog and her litter of six puppies.
“I think there might be one pup left, if Tyler wants it,” Shane beamed. “I really wanted the mother dog, and now she’s mine!”
I looked at Queso, with her soft, bean-filled belly and floppy, brown ears, and for a fleeting moment, I was sad for this inanimate object because she was separated from her puppies, never to see them again.
Truth be told, the moment wasn’t fleeting. I’m still sad.