The crazy cat lady trope is one we are all familiar with. Old and alone, she generally has somewhere between 3 and 300 cats milling about her house. These cats all have names like “Freckles” or “Mr. Twinkles.” Sometimes, the symptoms of a cat lady can be spotted early on. For instance, I have a friend who regularly meows like a cat—which is definitely a weird experience when you assume you’re exclusively among humans. Regardless, cats are very trendy right now. Every trip to Forever 21 is not complete until every person in your party has spotted at least four cat-related pieces of clothing. Being a cat lady become fashionable, making it more accepted.
I mean, that’s all well and good, but no one really wants to talk about the crazy dog lady trope. That’s probably because the crazy dog people don’t regularly bark like dogs, compared to our crazy cat lovers. And, like the mustache trend, it’s only a matter of time before Forever 21’s cat clothing phases out.
Because we’re all familiar with the crazy cat lady story, the crazy dog lady trope doesn’t get as much recognition.
But, as a crazy dog lady myself, let’s talk about the symptoms of being a crazy dog person. Us crazy dog people like to keep a low-profile, but I think it’s time to come clean about some of our habits.
On the Internet
Some people get stuck in Wikipedia loops for hours, some get stuck in YouTube loops on science things or acoustic song covers, but I get looped into hours of puppy videos. Particularly parodies of songs turn everything into dogs. Side effects of being a crazy dog lady include exclusively following puppy blogs and being up to date on the latest doge meme.
In real life:
Whenever I see a dog, it goes something like this:
Upon first dog-sighting, one must always yell, “Dog! Look there’s a dog!” To which, depending on who you’re with, reactions vary from “Puuupppy!” to “Um, okay.”
As we approach the dog, it’s typical for a dog person to smile brightly at said dog, and say hello.
I also wave, and assume every wink or flap of ear is a wave in return.
If I’m with a fellow dog-lover, then the odds of us attacking the dog with our pets and baby voices increases exponentially. No dog is off-limits. Service dogs, mutts, chihuahuas, tiny fluffy dogs–they are all subject to my usual greeting of “hello, widdle baby!”
Sure, cats are very wearable right now. Cat lovers have an easier time incorporating their love of cats with their fashion. But, what are the other perks to being a cat lady? I’m strictly a dog person, but I’m still not ready for the cat lady stigma—and judging by the purrs coming from the aforementioned friend, no one else is, either. As a crazy dog lady, though, how likely am I to be similar to these cat people? Will I become a spinster with only my 37 dogs, with names like “Barky McBark” and “Rocky Balboa?” Will Forever 21 start carrying sweaters with corgis on them?
Actually, I really need a sweater with a corgi on it.
