my dog tulip

there came a day when we were walking in wimbledon woods and she suddenly added my urine, which I had been obliged to void, to the other privileged objects of her social attention. how touched i was! how honored i felt! "oh, tulip, thank you", i said. and now she always does it. no matter how preoccupied her mind may be with other things, such as rabbiting, she will always turn back, before following me, to the place where she saw me relieve myself -for nothing that i do escapes her- to sprinkle her own drops upon mine. so i feel that if ever there were differences between us they are washed out now. i feel a proper dog.

- j. r. ackerley