THIS company gets billboards.

[Meffy]

It's a righteous cop so I've removed my lame jape. Did try to get back on topic though. :-}

[<b>]

Originally Posted by garricks

This ad/billboard/building/installation (whatEVer) appeals to the 4-year-old boy who roped and brought home every dog in the neighborhood, until his parents put him in the car and drove him over to a strange house. In the house was a little playpen of sorts, almost like a wading pool or sandbox. And in it were eight puppies and their mother, and the boy was told he could pick any one of the puppies to take home with him.

Well, that's quite a decision for a 4-year-old boy! He tried and tried, but he couldn't decide. Then the runt of the litter stopped playing with all the other puppies and came over and nuzzled the boy's hand.

The puppy chose the boy.

They played constantly over the next 16 years. She waited by the front door for him to get home from school, they played fetch in the back yard and the park down the street, and he would sneak her into his bedroom at night.

She was his best friend for 16 years.

Sheesh Garricks, that really made me miss my old dog Trooper who adopted us when I was about 8 years old. The half-grown pup just showed up at our porch one day and wouldn't leave. My parents would try to scare her off, then I'd sneak out later to feed her with leftovers from dinner. This went on for two or three months, and I guess my parents finally got used to her being there.

She would go everywhere with us, and would travel back and forth on her own between our house and the stockyards on the farm about ten miles away. She found a shortcut through the fields in between that shaved off about three miles. After getting older, she would jump in the truck and ride over to the farm each day with dad.

Trooper would even tag along on dates when I got older. Trooper was an excellent judge of character, and if she didn't like a girl, neither did I. When I grew up and went away to college, I think I missed that dog more than anything else. When I came home to visit, she would act as though it was the greatest event in the history of the universe.

Both my parents were out of town when she finally died, so my older brother took her over to the farm to bury her.

I sure do miss that dog.

[Rachel B]

got some mind reading going on there garricks

[garricks]

<b> what a great rememberance. Sounds like Trooper was a fine companion.

I'm still curious (from a market research standpoint) why this ad is so polarizing. To me, it's pure joy, the unabashed excitement of having a dog in your life and loving him/her as well as they love you. But obviously others aren't feeling that.

And I'm always amused at people who assume that the post immediately following theirs is directed solely at them.

[Meffy]

Originally Posted by garricks

And I'm always amused at people who assume that the post immediately following theirs is directed solely at them.

If you mean me, I didn't assume yours meant solely me. However, your comment didn't say whom it was directed at and I had already noted that I had been drifting off topic and failing to keep from doing so -- so yes, it was a fair cop and the little joke wasn't worth keeping.

[Bob]

"We're goldfish people, we're antfarm people. We're not dog people." (George Newton -- from the film, Beethoven)

Actually, my favourite pet of all time was a leech I kept in our kitchen during my college years. We found him in a pond one spring, and adopted him as our faithful and loving pet. So easy to maintain -- a couple tiny bits of raw hamburg maybe once a month. Other than that -- just enjoyed him (her? both?) swimming about so gracefully in that golden glow of stagnant pond water. He was very happy. As were we.

Poor 'Dave'. Killed by a drunken roommate who 'accidentally' squirted some dish detergent into his mason jar late one careless Friday night.

But yeah, in the end, even Dave was... pure Joy.

[Nobert]

Originally Posted by garricks

I'm still curious (from a market research standpoint) why this ad is so polarizing. To me, it's pure joy, the unabashed excitement of having a dog in your life and loving him/her as well as they love you. But obviously others aren't feeling that.

That could be a simple "dog person" thing. I'm more of a cat person, but I don't loathe dogs, I just take them on a case-by-case basis (in fact, the dog in this ad, which looks to be some kind of terrier, is about in my preferred size range of canine mass). Although I have been very fond of some dogs, the notion of a dog/companion isn't one that inspires feelings of automatic affection in me, personally.

As for being polarizing, I think it may just be the brazen scale of the thing. Just as some people can be awe-inspired by music because of its sheer volume, while that makes others reach for the ear-plugs.

For the record, I'd say I basically like it, reminds me of this:

[Kool]

Dogs and cats can get along

Marcy-The-Dog-Adopts-Two-Kittens-Feeds-As-If-She-Was-Their-Mother

[Nobert]

Okay, interesting wrinkle, I know I said I wasn't a dog person but if this video by a friend of mine showing off her 4-week-old puppies doesn't make you want to pick up something fuzzy then you're even less of a dog person than I am. Maybe not even a mammal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Wmel_97lm3A

[garricks]

*dies of teh cute*

Nobert, that's awesome.