My parents have completely lost it – their minds that is. No, it’s not due to dementia or other forms of senility. It’s actually caused by the arrival of a little white dog named “Mac”.

Mac is a Bijan. Those who are of the dog world claim that Bijans are intelligent animals that are easy to train. For my parents it was love at first site. They treat him like a prince – buying him special food, special toys, and other special doggy accessories. He even has a special place to sleep (a spot that he selected since there is not a piece of furniture that is off limits).

My father takes him to every grooming session and every doctor’s appointment. Not once, in all of my childhood, did my father take me to one hair cut or dentist visit. What’s worse, my mother went to “preview” Puppy Camp before leaving Mac while they went on a week-long cruise. She drove 75 miles just to make sure the camp was suitable for their little pooch. For the record, I went to camp every summer from the time I was five-years-old. To my knowledge, my mother never made a site visit before sending her little girl off to face the elements.

Not long ago, my family attended a funeral of an elderly family member. A little old woman, who had to be 106 hobbled over to my sister and me. She said, “I didn’t know your parents had daughters! I knew they had a dog, but I didn’t know they had children”.

The kicker came over the weekend. I was visiting mom and dad along with my two children. We went to the park and little Mac of course accompanied us. My youngest fell off of a swing and started to cry. While attending to him, Mac stepped out of the gated area. Although he was less than 6 inches from me, my parents leapt up and start screaming, “Get Mac!!! Get Mac!!!” I put my screaming toddler down so that I could ensure that the dog was returned to safety. I yelled back, “All’s well! Mac is back inside. And, in case you’re interested, I don’t think Luke will need stitches!”

Now some of you reading this may think that I’m just jealous and that I don’t like the attention being taken away from me or my children. Well you know what… You’re Right!!! I hate being upstaged by a dog – even if he is potty trained!