The dog days of autumn

I admit, I felt a little funny when people asked, “So what’d you do today?” and I answered, “We took our dog to Rita’s Custard.” Am I imagining it, or did I get a few now-you’ve-really-lost-it looks?

We have been taking our dog to Rita’s Custard for her birthday for the last few years, once we discovered that if you get a custard for yourself, and you have a canine friend with you, you also get a free doggie cup of custard with a little milkbone in it. I know a good deal when I see one. So does our dog.

And okay, so it’s not really her birthday yet—her actual special day is in November, but it’s always cold when we go there then, when we huddle on the picnic bench outside the Rita’s entrance and sing happy birthday. Okay, we don’t sing happy birthday, but I bet you thought we did since we do take our dog to get custard for her special day.

You have to understand: we have no choice. It’s a tradition now. What would happen if we skipped? Wouldn’t she be upset if we plain ol’ forgot? She’s a Scorpio, after all, and you know what that means.