Even More New Friends (and a Gender Debate)!

I'm a dog.  I can't believe how many people love me and want to be friends with me!  Last night, two of Alicia's co-worker friends came by the house.  I was a little upset that they didn't invite me to trivia with them, so I got back at them by nibbling their toes and licking their feet.  Something tells me they'll remember to invite me next time.

Contrary to my first impression, Erin and Kelley aren't twins.
They just dress alike and have red hair. Works for me!

One thing we don't have a picture of, however, was me showing them my "fit through the cat door" trick.  Alicia told them the story and they looked at the cat door and said "No way! She can't possibly fit through that!"  So of course, they had to see.  Erin put me in the kitchen (luring me in with fresh water - gets me every time) and then opened the cat door.  Heck if I didn't squirm through that door in seconds flat.  Kelley was shouting "You're not a cat!" and Erin was laughing.  I think that means they were impressed with my skills.

Erin questioned why, if I was a girl dog, I had a blue collar.  Alicia told her that, believe it or not, they will sell blue collars to people who own girl dogs.  Who knew?  Girl dogs aren't restricted to red, pink and purple.  It's the 21st century.  Dogs can wear any collar they want!  Erin isn't the first one to be puzzled by the blue collar though, it's actually a common source of confusion.  People come up to me, see the blue collar and assume I'm a boy, saying things like "He's such a cute dog!" "He's a puppy!" etc.  Then they either ask my name or I flip over onto my back to request a belly rub and their reaction is something akin to "Wha???? Oh, it's a girl."  It's funny, because boy dogs never seem to have a problem figuring out that I'm a girl.  They come over, sniff and then try to mount me.  I know I'm cute, but boys, please.  Some manners!  Take me out for a dog biscuit first.  

Anyway, all of this gender-bending had me thinking about a cool story Alicia read and told me about, called The Story of X and that got me thinking about the "Real-life Baby X" and how people are getting so bent out of shape about not knowing whether someone else's child is a boy or a girl.  And I know this is a light, fluffy blog where people come to look at cute pictures and read funny stories, but I'm going to get a little deep right now.  What does it matter whether I'm a boy or a girl?  Aren't I cute and playful and sometimes well-behaved no matter whether I'm a boy or girl?  Aren't my ears just as soft? My spots just as cow-looking? I think so.

And all that reminds me that today a man said I was so good looking that I was "movie star dog" good looking.  He complimented my markings and my brown ear and otherwise stark white coat.  Alicia thanked him and gave a little laugh (because people are always randomly coming up to her and saying what a looker I am) and he said "No, I'm serious. That's a good-looking dog."  I'm a dog.