Dogs are one of the many gifts I love about Weaver Street Market in Carrboro. Canine friends lounge beside the colorful chairs on the stone patio. Many of these tail-waggers are friendly and shake hands if asked.
My children and I had an early dinner the other evening while a woman enjoyed an IPA alongside her open book. A beautiful Golden Retriever sat dutifully beside her. My seven-year-old daughter asked if she could pet the dog, and the woman and I began a conversation. Her dog was also seven years old and named Buttercup, like in the movie The Princess Bride—a favorite in our household—and she clarified that her dog was actually a mixed breed. “A mutt!” My daughter chimed in, and we laughed. While she continued to pet her new furry friend, I learned that, as a puppy, Buttercup had been rescued from a dumpster in South Carolina. Who leaves a puppy in a dumpster? Judge not, lest ye be judged.
Also in my religious tradition, we talk about resurrection, but no institution has an exclusive hold on the idea of new life. Sometimes seeing is believing. There was Buttercup in her golden glory, loving the hugs around her neck, and when my daughter pulled back, Buttercup gently yet pointedly nosed her to continue. Clearly, she was used to being treated like a princess! My daughter happily obliged.
I learned that Buttercup’s best friend is a black housecat. When it thunders, this feline snuggles Buttercup to keep the princess calm and comforted. The cat’s name is Grace.
Cruelty certainly exists in the world and in our neighborhoods, yet we can savor the grace of loving pets, cold ales, and corny jokes. (I’m looking at you, Victor Lewis!) Before we left Weaver Street Market, the woman told me that Princess Buttercup shed her coat only two times a year … for six months at a time!
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of the book with Wipf and Stock Publishers titled This Is the Day: A Year of Observing Unofficial Holidays about Ampersands, Bobbleheads, Buttons, Cousins, Hairball Awareness, Humbugs, Serendipity, Star Wars, Teenagers, Tenderness, Walking to School, Yo-Yos, and More. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he is a student of joy.
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