Day 24

Man, the other day I was having some major fantasizing going on. I'm not one to indulge in wishful thinking too often, but my imagination just wouldn't let go. I really wanted an Alaskan Malamute, as in the breed of dog that looks vaguely like a wolf. Growing up, I never had any sort of mammalian pet (only carnival goldfish), on account of my childhood home's carpeted floors and my dad's allergies. But the other day I just couldn't stop looking at pictures of malamutes. They just look so awesome with their curved tails and pointed ears and natural grins. I never really got to empathize with kids who owned dogs, and for most of my life I've been pretty socially awkward around dogs, which is weird when you think about it. I mean, dogs are maybe some of the friendliest creatures around, who have minimal to no expectations of their relationship to you. All they really crave is attention. Give them that and they'll give you the world. But for some reason, I never really knew what the correct protocol was when in the presence of our domestic canine friends.

Maybe that's part of the draw of the malamute for me. There's something mystical and wild built into them, seeing as how they're interbred with wolves and all. I'd like to think about them as still having something wild inside them. I suppose it's a trait I'd like to have in myself, seeing as how I would abhor to ever have the term "domesticated" apply to me. I've built a mythology in my mind around the malamute, one that involves them being something purer and wilder than other dogs. In my mythology, malamutes lack the dumb happy smile, the glazed look of contentment that comes from a comfortable life. That they still have the inventiveness and courage to survive on their own in the wild makes me tingle in the spine a little bit.

I should move to Alaska some day. I swear to God.