The King of the Bus Stop: Blogging Around with Rommy Week 45

I thought I knew what stubborn was, but that was before we rescued Kit. Oh I knew corgis could be stubborn, thanks to my first dog, Faye. But Kit has taken corgi stubbornness and elevated to a Michelangelo level of artistry.

Nowhere is this more obvious than at around 8:30 am every morning. You see that’s the time the elementary school bus comes around our neighborhood. And Kit knows that not only is the bus stop filled with children lining up to rub his belly, he knows the bus driver always has treats on hand for any dogs that happen to be around.

This is slightly mortifying for me as my children are well past elementary school age. There is no reason to be at the stop. But if Kit just sees one child heading in that direction, he will tug on his leash until my husband or I bring him there. This dog, who is known for the most part to be a lazy fellow, will sprint if he hears the bus coming down the block. He has also been known to have an attitude if we are late getting him out and he misses the bus.

It’s gotten so bad that every time Kit sees a bus, he assumes it’s his bus and won’t budge unless its proven otherwise (the bus drives past with no one paying any attention to him and no treats getting tossed his way).

While this can be very exasperating, especially when I’m trying to get him to take care of business quickly between errands, I can’t stay annoyed for long. I remember how shy he was when we first adopted him, a few months after Faye passed away. He grew to love and trust us, and we were grateful for his cuddly derpiness after what had been a sad time in our lives. I don’t know why his previous owners gave him up, but I’m glad he’s part of our family now. A little stubbornness now and then is a very small price to pay for that.

If I stay perfectly still
maybe I'll get a cookie

This essay is linked to Poets United Pantry of Prose and Poetry

Song Choice: Whenever I see Kit waiting for a bus I often imagine the Wells Fargo Wagon song from the Music Man playing in his head.

The Cuteness of Corg (Resistance was Futile)

Figures, I thought, staring at the door. He’d use my love of anime to get me to face up to my worst fear. “Well, let’s get this over with,” I said.

Eric attempted to rope in his giddiness, but his glee came out in his voice. “I swear we’ll leave if you get too uncomfortable. It’s not like we’re getting a dog today. What’re the chances there’s a corgi here?” He held the door open for me to walk into the dog rescue center.

When we first started dating, I thought the differences in our religions would be one of the hardest obstacles to overcome. Nope. Eric was a dog lover. A raised-one-from-a-pup, had-wholesome-adventures-together, hard-core, unabashed dog lover.

Me? Well, a neighbor dog jumped on me when I was 4. I knew now that the face licking meant he was happy to see me, not taking a taste test. But you couldn’t tell 4-year-old me that. Since then, I had a hard time not running in the other direction, screaming as if Cerberus himself were about to drag me into the netherworld, if I saw so much as a chihuahua.  

But Eric was persistent. I got to be comfortable with a dog walking on the same street as me. When I said the dog on the anime Cowboy Bebop looked cute, he claimed victory, researching that type of dog and extolling their virtues with all the zeal of an infomercial spokesman.

I walked through the doors, ready to bolt if it became too much. And there, in a cage right in front of me was a tiny corgi pup, shivering next to a St. Bernard. The attendant put her on my lap, we both looked at each other and stopped shaking.

“We are not leaving here without her,” I said.

“What are we naming her?” Eric grinned.

“Faye Valentine, like the anime.”

This was my Faye. We had twelve really great years together. 

Thanks for making a dog lover, sweet girl.

By Rommy Cortez-Driks

Song Choice: Tank from the anime series Cowboy Bebop

Liner Notes for this Groove: This non-fiction prose piece was created for Pantry of Prose over at Poets United.