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"This almost looks like a legit Christmas card picture. Last night I went to a nice Italian place with Jenny. Our friend Kelli was supposed to come, but since she&amp;amp;#8217;d booked a babysitter for her baby, she had to use the time to get her holiday shopping done. (Man! Responsibilities really get in the way of fun!) Anyway, I went over to Jenny&amp;amp;#8217;s first and met Scout, her newly adopted puppy.When I got there, I said, &amp;amp;#8220;But we&amp;amp;#8217;re not animal people!&amp;amp;#8221; Jenny admitted she&amp;amp;#8217;d never been a dog or animal person. She used the word apathetic in regards to petting and mooning over someone else&amp;amp;#8217;s dog or cat. And I&amp;amp;#8217;ve already told you, the closest I get to caring for an animal is owning Snoopy. I asked Jenny what made her get the dog. She said it was all about having responsibility and domesticating. At first I thought, No way&amp;amp;#8212;that&amp;amp;#8217;s so much work! I mean, when I used to hear my car needed a new battery or brake pads, I was like, pissed. So how could I possibly bother to service or care for a living thing? Scout likes me! Maybe I would make a good single mother, too. There must be levels of responsibility, and getting a dog is the step before having a baby. A lot of people take this step. A few couples have emailed me &amp;amp;#8220;announcements&amp;amp;#8221; of their &amp;amp;#8220;new arrivals,&amp;amp;#8221; which turn out to be dogs, not babies! But Jenny did it a cool way&amp;amp;#8212;she just got Scout on Saturday and only mentioned him because we were meeting at her new apartment first. No announcements, no fuss. And she already had a hunky dog-sitter who was both in love with her and the dog! Too funny! I guess the motherly/pet instincts really can kick in! Have you felt this instinct, and have you acted on it? Puppy or baby?"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/single-ish/2008/12/are-puppies-the-new-babies>