Cliques

If you went to high school, you know first hand about stereotypical cliques. And if you aren't sure of what I'm talking about, you should rent 80s classics such as The Breakfast Club, Heathers, Sixteen Candles or Pretty In Pink; 90s sensation Clueless; or 2004's Mean Girls (for those of you who prefer the half-hearted attempts at updating the teen classics). Dealing with cliques is a right of passage for most people, especially in their teen years. And depending on where you work, you probably still deal with them now.

Today, I watched as the greyhounds at our monthly Pet Smart Meet and Greet create their own little clique. Now, dogs can't judge each other based on how cute their collar is or if their bum is furrier. They can't sort out each other based on whether or not they are having a bad hair day or not. Certainly, standing around outside Pet Smart they can't tell who had a better racing record. So how was it that all five brindle dogs cliqued together and excluded Seka almost the entire time we were there? Maybe she needed a bath or her breath smelled. Or maybe it was Seka who was being the snob? It's so hard to tell with her sometimes.

This was Roxy's first trip to Pet Smart, and although we didn't actually go in the store itself, she was the rock star of the Meet and Greet today. She was smiling at everyone when she was in the ex-pen on her break, crouching down and being extra sweet for the kids to pet her and standing with the "brindle clique" greeting people as they came in and out of the store.

Roxy did great with the small dogs who came to see us. All of the dogs, Seka included, loved the visit we received from the four-month-old whippet who was there for puppy school. They react so differently when they recognize something that looks like themselves, even if it is a mini-version of their breed.

We were there for four hours today, a very long Meet and Greet afternoon. But it was a beautiful day and there was a lot of foot traffic, so we stayed as long as the girls could stand it. Seka conked out half way through and assumed the position of Queen Bee on her bed in our ex-pen. Roxy begged to join her sister after three hours and they shared the bed for the last hour. They looked really cute together and I had to bribe them with treats to stand up and get love from admirers. I knew it was time to pack up and head home when neither of the girls could be motivated to get up no matter how many cookies to threw at them.

So, I'm not sure if Roxy is in the "in" crowd or if Seka is too much of a snob to hang out with the other dogs. Maybe it's like the documentary we watched last night - King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters. If geeks can have cliques, I guess greyhounds can too.