I Have Faith In Franklin

We got a puppy about 3 weeks ago. His name is Franklin. That’s him up there. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last 3 weeks it’s this: people love puppies! Naturally, this got me thinking.

Most of this is just my cynicism about the human race, but I'm pretty sure other people share that cynicism so I'm not all that worried. Nonetheless, it seems to me that people like (love?) puppies more than they like babies. There's that old joke about how the best thing about other people's babies is being able to give them back. I've never heard this statement made about puppies. People love puppies, people want puppies and I think that if science ever found a way to time-loop a dog so it remained a puppy forever, we'd never see a fully grown canine again. This isn't to say I don't like babies, or don't want children, far from it. I love the idea of being a father one day, despite the fact that deep down the idea may terrify me a little it's a small price to pay for leaving a small piece of me on the godforsaken Earth after I'm gone.

Back to puppies!

People love them. And I can't help but think that reason for this love is the undying, ever-lasting optimism that encapsulates a dog's life. You have a child and you know one day they're going to be in school, maybe be bullied (or worse become a bully themselves); they're going to be in high school, hate themselves, hate you, fall in love, have their heart broken etc etc praise The Fonz, amen; they're going to get out of school into the real world and meet insurance, bills, taxes, the harsh reality of democracy, and the list goes on. With puppies, there's none of that. There's food, sleeping and playing. People can see that optimism. Even in the most melancholy of dogs, god bless the poor whippet. For a dog there is nothing but good times ahead, no existential doubt, no crisis (crises?) of mortality, just "Where is my dinner?" and "Ooh look, there's that person who smells good and plays with me". When I look at Franklin, all I see is positivity. I guess that's what God (capital "G") is like for some people. But I don't believe in god, so I have faith in Franklin. Stay tuned.