I’ve been loading up my store with dog gear with college team logos: sweaters that look like real letter sweaters, and two-tone bandana collars that sport the images so familiar to fans of OSU, TAMU, and Penn State. The Aggies items are selling briskly, and the OSU items are always a hit with the Buckeyes fans. A good third of my feedback last fall had “Go Bucks!” somewhere in it, and I haven’t forgotten these loyal customers this football season.

    The fact is that I know very little about football, except that it gives a lot of people a great reason to gather in parking lots, stadiums, and sports bars to watch their favorite teams crashing around the field. When they’re ready for some football, I want to have the dog collars and sweaters ready for all the fan’s dogs, too, they can get in on the party food and festivities. I ask my nephews about the teams, and if those boys only paid half as much attention to their studies as they do the team stats and latest scores, they’d be looking at straight A’s on their report cards this quarter. This year I’m prepared with Auburn items, and Alabama, of course Penn and Clemson are new this year, Texas A & M, and of course, the University of Texas. OSU, for sure, and the Michigan Wolverines.

    Now Michigan was popular last year, but I wondered if the team’s performance this season wouldn’t impact sales of Wolverine items. I mean, this hasn’t exactly been a year to Go Blue! And then it hit me. I sell dog supplies and I know about dogs, even though I’m not very up on college football or sports in general. And what I know about dogs is that they are loyal. Just like sports fans. Hey, this year may not be the season you win the playoffs, but they’ll still be out there in the stands, wearing the colors and cheering for you none the less. Just like the dogs, they will be as enthusiastic about their chosen team as if they were undefeated. Kind of wonderful, I was thinking. And so I felt a bit more understanding about sports as I arranged those Michigan sweaters and collars on my inventory shelves. I know that, like the huddled crowds on a rainy day, the fans will be there this year as before, ready to support their teams just as flat out loyally as the dogs by their sides. And I’m hoping for a good fall season for them all!

Dogs are not a substitute for children, but they can be competent place holders. When my first child went away to college I adopted a Miniature Poodle, a wannabe show dog who didn't have the right number of teeth for the judges. For me she was perfect: needy, attentive, silly, and most importantly, no intention of ever leaving home. When my second child went to another state to pursue his higher education, I adopted my poodle's sister. She had been successful in the show ring, but because of her high-strung, sensitive nature, ended her career a frazzled wreck.

At first I wasn't certain that she would be able to adapt to life as a pet. Intuition ruled, however, and since her show retirement and my son's departure coincided so perfectly, I decided that she was destined to be my dog. After a life of crates and grooming and prancing around a ring, she was indeed frightened and mistrustful. But with the same proud carriage and elegant expression that had won her so many dog show distinctions, she looked at me with her bright, dark eyes, as if to say, "Will you be my mom?" That's the story of my lovely Madeline, whom you see in my store logo. Still beautiful as she enters her teens, she is quite content to be a home companion extraordinaire. 

It's wrenching to send your children away to college, even as we are proud and thrilled as they are to be going away to their "choice" schools. The shock of the tuition bills and the hollow echoes in the house can be overwhelming. Fortunately, I found my solution in with a couple of cheerful little dogs whose moods range from enthusiastic to euphoric. Empty nest dogs, they do their part so well!