Do Dogs have a Soul? And Other Things to Ponder While at the Shopping Mall

Day 8 -- So today I went with my husband and three of the kids to the shopping mall.  It's a really nice mall but I don't like to go there much because it always brings out the green eyed monster in me.  People are really skinny, have nice boots, great purses, lots of shopping bags (which indicates lots of money) and their hair always looks nicer than mine.  Okay, I am totally exaggerating.  (But not about the shopping bag part.)

Anyway, we were there because Tessa got a ton of gift cards from Abercrombie and she just HAD to go shopping because I don't know, a gremlin had come into her room and stolen all of her clothes or something.  My husband wanted to stop at the Apple Store and plus, we had to get gifts for the annual Yankee gift swap which was tonight at my sister's house.  (Don't even get me going about that.)  So I finally come back from Abercrombie and meet up with the boys.   As we are buying a gift for the Yankee swap at Harry and David's, I start talking about eating one of the bags of gourmet popcorn during the Packers game tomorrow.  And that's when the trouble began.  The older woman behind the counter fixes me with this intense stare through her black rectangle glasses.  She puts her hands on her hips and says, "you like the Packers?"  And I nod yes.  "I'm a Philadephia fan," she says.  "Ummm, good," I say, "but how can you stand Michael Vicks?"  At which point my 15 year old grimaces in pain and says under his breath, "Pssst.  Mom?  It's Michael Vick."  He turns away from us and plaintively says to his father, " I cannot even believe Mom is having a sports argument right now."  Okay.  So I am not the biggest sports follower.  But I do read the news.   And I was very disappointed when I read about Vick's illegal exploits with dogs.

So I turned back to the woman and said, "I get it.  Everybody's not perfect. I kind of even like Brett Favre.  A bit."  It was like I threw a light switch on in her brain because suddenly she went a little bonkers.  Her voice flew up a few octaves and her eyes got even bigger.  "What?!  How can you be okay with Favre?  You're a woman!"  At this point the boys are kind of pulling me out of the store.  So I turn around to zing one last comment. "Favre wasn't right with what he did but he didn't kill women.  Vick killed dogs."   But it wasn't over.  As I walked out of the store and stepped into the hallway filled with the glitz and glamour still oozing throughout the mall, she lobbed the final volley.  "Dogs have no souls!" she screeched.

At which point I looked at everyone and asked, "what just happened in there?! "   The kids were all laughing and my husband just shook his head.  "Only you," he grinned, "can end up in the middle of such a bizarre sports argument at the mall."

I don't know if I am the only one, but honestly, it got me thinking.  I never really considered it before but now that this issue has come up, I guess I can only make my opinion by relying on my faith.  That and the fact that my dog is one of the sweetest and goofiest dogs around.  Yup.  She has soul.  Lots of it.  So I am going to go with a resounding yes;  I do believe that dogs have souls.