OK - Oprah's pissed me off AGAIN.

OK - time for the "Yeah, I sympathize, but..." department. (BTW, is it just me, or does Elmo look happy to be nestled in Oprah's bosom?)

Oprah Winfrey still misses her dead dog Gracie. I understand that...I miss dogs of mine (and cats too) that died 10 years...15 years...ago.

However...here's this quote that I'm going "but" over:

"She never stopped moving. Was energy in motion. ... I have never seen a being, human or animal, always so full of joy," Winfrey says of Gracie, who ran amok and gulped food and treats. "This dog lived every moment as though it were her last."

Uh - hate to tell you, Oprah, but many MANY dogs run amok and gulp food and treats. It's just the way dogs ARE. This dog is doing what Mother Nature intended, and it ain't some kind of profound thing. It's an everyday dog thing. The only reason poodles don't do it is because they're reincarnated from dead runway models.

Yes, Oprah, I understand your pain. But let me tell you a story.

I had a boyfriend in college (the famous EW) whose mother was obsessed with their dog Sarge. Sarge was a dachsund who was getting on in years. He also had a habit of getting into and EATING things he shouldn't. EW's family had this dog since he was a small child, and the dog finally kicked the bucket and went to Doggie Heaven in October of 1988.

How did the doggie die?

He ate a roll of Scotch tape and died after surgery b/c he didn't come out of the anesthetic.

This woman was despondent, and rightly so - she missed the dog. She loved the dog.

However...she got a little obsessive about it.

First example - she had a photo collage of the dog plus dachsund figurines and a little cross-stitch sampler with the dog's date of birth and date of death IN THE FAMILY BATHROOM. The little doggies graced the top of the toilet tank. The photo collage hung on the wall above the toilet. (It was already bad enough that there were family photos hanging on the wall FACING the toilet...)

Second example...she made sure I knew that the dog was buried right outside the bathroom window. Apparently this completed the dachsund shrine effect.

Third example...the one time I spent a weekend with EW's family, I wore red and black plaid pajamas. EW's mother had a crying fit because they matched Sarge's car coat.

EW's brother summed up the situation succinctly by stating, "Jesus Christ, Mom, it's just a dog."

I was of two minds about her grief...my pit bull had been killed about two or three weeks before Christmas because he was hit by a Mack truck. Why did he get hit? Defending our property by chasing a strange dog away. So who was I to deny her grief?

However, would she have been as patient with me if I were openly grieving my dog's passing? I'm not sure...but it seemed like she used the grief as a crutch as opposed to being able to understand another's pain and reach out to them.

Grief has its own timetable whether it's people or animals.

But as much as I've loved my pets, I am learning to put things in perspective. Even though pets can be like family, there's just a certain order to things and sometimes you have to follow the order...whether you want to or not. I miss my pets, but they shouldn't outrank the people in your life.

But ya know, I wish I had that Oprah influence...it'd be nice to have so much influence that you could give out a time-worn principle to the public and they act like it's the greatest discovery since the polio vaccine.

*sigh* Ain't celebrities great?