top dogs.

although I really love dogs a lot it doesn't make sense for me to get one right now. i need to find someone like a boyfriend/husband that can take care of said dog while i irresponsibly lay around and watch television. or at least someone to take care of it during the wintertime when it's cold out. or when it's a puppy and not housebroken. or when i want to sleep in and the dog's sick. or when i get an autographed derek jeter ball and the dog gets a hold of it and eats it (sorry bec...)

anyways, can't hurt to dream. here are my top dog candidates if i was getting a puppy RIGHT NOW:

5. ENGLISH BULLDOG

So adorable. But there are a few drawbacks to these wrinkly critters that make me second guess the choice. Problem 1 - sometimes when they get too fat, we go from cute to...eh...slob-like. And speaking of slob, I think these guys drool a lot too. But I guess at the point the pup gets fat or slobbery, i'd already be loving it for the long haul. So there's that.

4. RESCUE PUPPY
There are lots of rescue shelters with dogs that need homes. And a lot of the pups I've seen on these sites have a little pit bull in them, which can scare some people. But they are still adorable. And I'm sure if I showered them in a cocoon of love they would become just as sensitive and emotionally unstable as I am. Which means instead of biting children and entering dog fights, my pit bull mix will be laying on me while we watch reruns of Friday Night Lights and both cry hysterically. Always good to have a good crying partner who won't judge. To see how adorable these puppies are, check out the doggies available for adoption right now at Animal Haven in NYC.

3. BOSTON TERRIER
These guys went from not being on my radar to BAM being pretty high up on this here list. And I give a lot of credit for LE PETIT PUPPY for this quick turn around. LE PETIT PUPPY is a dog store with a pretty explanatory name. If you speak the slightest bit of French you can figure it out. Anyways, whilst visiting said small puppy shoppe, I saw the smallest Boston Terrier puppy that melted my heart. Honestly, I had to really think of something terrible to get my heart to freeze over again before I left that store. These little guys are cute as hellz.

2. FRENCH BULLDOG
Come on!!!! Look at their ears!!! ...I don't even think I have to say anything else. Except Tim Lincecum has one that he bought after winning the Cy Young award and named Cy. Pretty bad ass. I guess the only problem here is I'd have to wait to win some sort of notable award before naming my big eared bundle of joy.

1. LAB - aka best dog in the world.
Okay, I'm the first to admit that everyone who has a childhood dog is biased for the rest of eternity to liking that breed best of all. Unless said childhood dog turned out to be a monster that bit your friends or ruined your clothing or something else unthinkable. But my childhood dog never did that to me! She was THE BEST. Labs have every quality that I want for myself as a person -- they're smart, funny, fast, loyal as hell, happy, and really good at hunting. Sure, their hips might not work so well when they get up there in age, and maybe they'll grow weird lumpy non-cancerous tumors as well when they get old enough to have a grey beard around their happy muzzles. But dammit, labs are everything dogs should be and more. If anything, I want my children (insert prayer that someday I have children) to grow up knowing the joy of having a great childhood dog. I also want them to get to watch Saved By The Bell. I hope it's still in syndication when they come along. But back to labs... just read or watch Marley and Me and I'm sure you'll agree. They may be a handful, the love they give you in return is well worth it.