My Little Problem

I think I'm developing a problem... I'm going through advanced dog withdrawal.

Today I was driving and there was a dog in the car in front of me. It was a big one, like a Golden Retriever I think, and it was barking its fool head off. The dude actually missed the light turning green twice because the dog was getting in all kinds of shenanigans. Usually I'd be kind of annoyed if someone was driving erratically and missing green lights, but I was loving it. I was sitting there with a big silly grin on my face watching this dog and wishing I could go play with it.

Background: I am a dog person. We had a dog back at my parents' house who was a wonderful and loving creature. She gradually turned into a nice old-lady dog, and after many years we had to spare her many coinciding health problems by putting her "to sleep." Since then I have been forced to live vicariously through the dogs of others. As much as I love people, there is nothing like the unbridled and unconditional love of a pet dog. There is an unparalleled loyalty a dog has for its "master" (or best friend, really). The moment you walk in the door and you see how excited your dog is just to see you is the happiest anyone will ever be at your entrance.

Listen to me, going on. Several friends of mine laugh at me because if I even glimpse a dog I'm like a child that sees something shiny, "oh! A dog! Let's go that way! Can I pet it?" I can't help it; it's like a visceral, instinctual jolt of excitement. So I'm thinking that maybe this is like the "maternal instinct" that (apparently) makes women want to have babies at some moment in their lives, only for me it is wanting the companionship of a dog. Unfortunately (for me and any potential dog) I am probably too nomadic to be sure I could provide a constant home for a pet. But as soon as I get any semblance of permanence in my world, I am going to get a dog so hard. It makes me want to buy a house right now.