Bell's Musings #1 Beware The Look!
My dog Kuro is a miniature male wire-haired Dachshund. He's the
first dachsie I ever owned. Moreover, I never intended to own one because I don't particularly like their appearance. Hawaii has no rabies... One day I visited that pet store just to have a look-see, with
NO intention of buying a pup. Inside there were about 20 customers and 50 purebred pups, representing maybe 15
different breeds (of pups, not people). All the puppies were in kennel cages with 2 or 3 of their litter
mates. Except for Kuro.
He was in a baby's playpen on the floor, all by his lonesome. I had never seen nor heard of a wirehaired dachsie before. To me,
Kuro looked just plain strange...
but cute. Still, he was no big deal. After all, ALL puppies are cute. There were several folks clustered around Kuro's pen when I approached.
He wagged his tail at them, of course; but the
minute he saw me, he gave me **THE LOOK**! Kuro gazed into my eyes like he was seeing into my very soul. And
maybe he was. Ignoring everyone else, Kuro promptly trotted over to the area
where I was standing. He tilted his little head to one side and just stared and stared into my eyes. I felt a momentary tug at my heart, but turned away. I never even
petted him. Didn't dare. I mean, he didn't look like a proper dog at all... As I walked out of the store I made sure not to look back. Even
so, I still felt those big brown eyes boring into
my back. That evening I told Amy and my daughter Krisella about the weird
pup with the X-ray stare. Amy squinted with suspicion, figuring I was setting her up for a sales pitch. But I wasn't.
(Honest! I was just talking stories.) With sarcastic humor I described Kuro's ungainly appearance. As
I did so, Krissy's face lit up like a Christmas tree. She soon convinced Amy that our family HAD to have that little
pup. Amy gave me a hopeless, grim-faced look that clearly said, "I
give up but YOU had better talk her out of this, buster!" It thus became my duty to convince Kris that getting Kuro was a
bad idea. I got nowhere. Finally, I fell back on my last bastion of defense. "He's too expensive," I
said. Kris smiled in triumph. Whipping out her checkbook, she said, "I'll
go halfers!" In desperation I glanced at Amy but there was no help from that quarter -- Kris had her hypnotized. "I'll have to think about it," I said -- a phrase my
family recognizes as meaning "NO!" Quickly I fled to my study and closed the door. But the situation
was hopeless. In my mind, I now had two pairs
of brown eyes staring longingly at me -- Kuro's and my daughter's. "Face
it, Bill," I told myself. "You're in love!" Minutes later I was on my way to the pet store, praying it wouldn't
close before I got there and that Kuro hadn't been sold. The store was nearly empty when I arrived. Lots of the pups had
been sold, and only a few customers were still there. Frantically I loped over to Kuro's pen, and there he was -- a forlorn
bit of black fur, all alone, curled up asleep in one corner. I clucked my tongue and Kuro opened one eye to glance at me. Boom! The
little guy came alive and went wild with glee. He knew! That doggoned dog knew I was his and he was mine! When Kuro and I got back home, Amy gave me a verrry frosty stare,
then regarded the little pup's bedraggled fuzziness with obvious disdain. I was in for big trouble. "Where's Kris?" I asked forlornly, knowing that my daughter
was the only one who could save me from certain destruction. "Away," Amy replied in icy tones. Uh-oh. No cavalry to the rescue this time. With Krissy not there
to defend me, I was a gone goose. But I reckoned without Kuro. That little lad quietly walked over
to my wife and solemnly gave her **THE LOOK**! Amy's jaw fell loose. Her eyes glazed over. A silly grin came over
her face, and the icy look melted into one of amazement and adoration. Praise the Lord
who created unconditional love and then wrapped it up in fuzz and fur! By George, we had us a loooong little doggie! By the way, if you don't want a dog in your family, folks, I warn
you... Beware **THE LOOK**!!!
"Kuro"
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