The dogs are herding sheep around Williamsburg and other gentrified Brooklyn neighborhoods. These days, it’s the mid-sized fluffy dogs. There are some mid-to-large -sized fluffy dogs, yet most of them are middle-of-the-road sized.
My guess is they get fed human grade dog food, like the Farmer’s Dog or whatever competitors VCs are funding these days. It’s somewhat abhorrent that dogs in some neighborhoods have easier access to human grade food than many humans do, either in the same or adjacent neighborhood. VCs aren’t funding healthy food stores to replace the bodegas and smoke shops. Well, that’s capitalism, I guess.
Back to these mid-sized fluffy dogs. They’ve finally supplanted the french bulldog, or “frenchie”, that has been the hipster wannabe (sad to be a wannabe of a trend that faded long ago…) standard for the past 10-15 years. I don’t know if the frenchies met the end of their lifespan and were replaced, or if maybe the pandemic caused a whole new generation of sheep to realize they needed a dog to be herded by.
Regardless, you’ll see them all over these neighborhoods. They’re mostly black and white, some are mid-brown. They’re all basically the same though.
Not that the sheep notice the similarity, though. Each sheep thinks theirs is the cutest and that every passerby should stop and melt over how cute their oversized stuffed animal is.
Never mind that it was the fifth such animal the passerby passed on their one block walk between the coffee shop and yoga studio, on the way to buy some over-priced linens at a store with a carefully chosen, strong single word brand name.
The sheep’s eyes are pleading the passerby to notice how undeniably cute their dog is.
I just wish they’d pick up their dog’s poop. Not cute, but necessary.
Of all the trends the sheep fleece into, this one to me is the saddest. Dogs aren’t human (Really, they’re not…they’re not even children…really…) yet they are living beings. These living beings have been turned into a trend. Sad but true.
Yet they’re not a trend that can be stashed away in a closet or more likely thrown away after the next trend comes along, like all black and white that has given way to super bright fluorescent colors.
Well, at least I hope they’re not.
If they were, the dogs would join the other shelter dogs who should have gotten adopted. Instead, they were left in the shelter by the sheep who so blindly and unconsciously had to have the dog that matched their vegan Birkenstocks, to sleep at the foot of their bed dressed in Brooklinen.
It’s sad and even sadder when the sheep feel the need to be herded inside “Service Dog Only” stores. I guess they need help weaving through the countless aisles of vegan, gluten free, hand-crafted and artisan food options, for the sheep and their dogs.
The sheep game the system so they can be herded through the aisles, feeling self-conscious each time someone doesn’t comment on how cute their four legged trend is.
What is to be done?
Learn more about Niky here.
