High listeners, this is Ashley Flowers and I want to tell you a story. A story about how my

obsession with getting a dog became my undoing. So gather around and listen close.

I don't know if I can accurately describe to you how much I have wanted a dog throughout my

entire life. The idea of owning a dog consumed my every waking thought when I was little, which

was probably exacerbated by the fact that both of my parents were allergic, which meant that until I

moved out of their house I was stuck with a goldfish named Goldie until he died when I was 10.

Because of that, I grew up fantasizing about the day when I could finally march right into a pet shop

or shelter or wherever and pick out the one I wanted. When I was older and my friends wanted to go

to the mall to shop for clothes, I would wonder over to the pet store and spend hours just watching

their little furry faces from behind the glass, hoping that one day one of them would be mine.

Because I had unlimited time growing up to think about this very subject, I spent many years

ruminating on the exact breed that I would take home with me one day. And whether it would be a large

dog or a small dog, short hair, long hair, boxer, bulldog, dashed-hound, doorman, finally I settled

on the Italian Greyhound. Very exotic, I know, but I loved how long and lean and graceful their

bodies were. They also looked like a weird alien animal from some of their planet, which for some

reason maybe you want one even more. By the time I realized they were my dream dog, I had turned my

obsession into something more than I could even put into words. And I began to channel my emotions

through painting and art as a way to express myself. I would often go back to the pet store,

almost every weekend to just stare at the puppies. I was in there so much that the boy who worked

behind the counter knew me, and as soon as I would come in, if it wasn't too busy, he'd pull out

one of the Greyhound puppies for me to play with in the little meat and greet room. I think he

thought maybe the puppies were just some kind of like front and I was really coming in to see him

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