Lily Lulu's lunchtime rendezvous
Today we introduce a guest blogger, a fellow Sun employee who, for reasons you will see below, ended up with a fairly steady lunchtime date -- a rendezvous with Lily Lulu, a puppy that resides at the florist shop down the block.
It struck me as pretty interesting how -- in an age where companies are actually renting pets, providing bonded, web-cammed-equipped day care for pets, cloning pets and otherwise treating them as a commodity -- one human could just simply walk up to another, a stranger, and end up with an informal daily date walking their dog. No written contracts. No liability concerns. No fee. No drama.
Her story is a simple reminder that dogs -- with the unconditional, non-judgmental, loving spirit they exude -- allow us to cross silly human boundaries; that, though they may have one owner, they're here for all of us to share; and that we don't need a corporation to provide us with that.
Here's Deborah Dramby, and her story:
So I have a beta fish at my desk, Mr. Limpet, who brightens up my long days at the office as much as he possibly can, but I’ve found that nothing lifts my spirits and gives me energy more than a walk over to Lord Baltimore Florist, home of my lunchtime pup-pal Lily Lulu.
I didn’t meet Lily in the flower shop though - I met her right outside of The Sun. The precocious little thing was bouncing around in the lawn near our lunch tables quite regularly actually.
One afternoon, we saw the little pup headed south on Calvert St with a different owner than usual and it dawned on us that we didn’t know this dog’s name, who she belonged to, or where she called home so a coworker and I did a little investigating.
As luck would have it, the first lead we got brought us to the florist. There was no guarantee that this dog would be inside, but the shop had been rumored to house an animal or two so at least it would be a good start.
As soon as we entered the shop, much to our surprise, the sweet puppy came running from the back of the shop to greet us and within minutes we learned all about her. She was a five-month old Border-Collie/Boxer mix from Fayette County Animal Shelter and Rescue who came to the flower shop via part-time deliveryman and former police officer Steve Mullins.
Jacqueline Dezes, owner of the flower shop on Calvert Street and major animal lover welcomed the puppy into her shop and family. An advocate of bringing pets to work, each day Jackie has at least two of her pets in the downtown shop keeping her and staff company and brightening the days of visitors, customers, and contrary to the stereotypes: mail carriers.
So these days, whenever I can take a lunch break away from my desk I head over to take the little Lily or Sophie Marie, an older Beagle/Jack Russell mix, for a walk. Afterwards, we usually swap stories about our pet’s mischief and I give a little attention to the animals that don’t come on the walk: the cats. Hercules and Leo are remarkably friendly, and tolerant, twin tabby kittens. Much like Sophie Marie, they deal well with Lily and her puppy antics and can be seen cuddled up in some blankets beneath a table full of flowers ready for delivery.
Perhaps the best part of visiting the shop is watching how all the animals interact. If my attention is being split between Jackie, one of the cats and Lily Lulu, she will do whatever it takes to get back in the spotlight.
Jackie, of course, is a wonderful spirit, offering a welcome smile and never failing to mention how much she loves our lunchtime visits. She keeps photo albums full of pictures of the pets and those that have passed and loves telling me all about them. Once in a while she even sends me back to the office with an arrangement of flowers signed from Lily.
Some of my co-workers think I’m a little nuts about dogs, and I may be, but I bet plenty would agree that the love and exuberance of a puppy can be a welcome break in the middle of a work day.
Too bad we all can’t bring out pets to work.
Comments
What a great story! The world would definitely be a better place if we could bring our pets to work...it's hard to stay mad at someone who's got a kitten curled up under their desk :)
Posted by: Damien | July 2, 2008 11:55 AM
This is my aunt Jacquie's dog! -how awesome to have a story written about her and her animals. She is lucky to be able to bring her animals to work. Its nice to know she brightens other peoples' day with her animals. her loving niece Jen.
Posted by: Jennifer Simsek | July 3, 2008 9:58 AM
Lily is such a cute dog! and Jacquie is one of the nicest ladies around. She and Lily really brighten my day.
Posted by: Alissa | July 3, 2008 1:37 PM
Jacquie is one of my favorite people. She tells me all about her beloved pets while she is on the phone with me, buying flowers for her shop, Lord Baltimore Florist. Her generosity and love for animals knows no bounds. She is very passionate about her pets, her flowers, and her friends. She is truly a gem. What a lucky puppy Lily Lulu is!
Posted by: Becky Green | July 3, 2008 3:19 PM