‘Please don’t trade me for a microwave oven.’
You’ve heard of stupid dog tricks, right? Like the meditating pooch above. Well, there are also stupid synchro tricks, it seems. I had one happen to me recently. I glanced at a headline that said something about a microwave oven and a dog. The article was by a regular columnist in our daily paper. After reading the first paragraph, it occurred to me that I could’ve had the same thing happen to me.
It began with an ad from the Royal Palm Beach (FL) online Craigslist:
I need a Microwave, so will trade a Chihauhua mix puppy for one. Must be working and not too old!!
Trading a puppy for a microwave? The columnist thought this was unusual, but when he investigated, he found out that the practice isn’t unusual. He noted that someone had recently traded a pet for patio work and that Craigslist was the place to trade your pet for household goods.
Did we try this trick? NO. But here’s the stupid synchro trick. Our twice-a-month housekeeper asked me the other day if I was interested in another dog. Her boyfriend, who has moved in with her, has a little dog that doesn’t get along with her dog. I said no thanks. We’re fine with Noah and occasionally with Nika joining us. But no more dogs.
Later, as she was working, she mentioned her college-aged daughter needed a microwave oven for her apartment. So she was going to look for a used one. As it turned out, we had Megan’s old microwave from college sitting out in the garage and in perfect condition. I told Nuvia that it was hers, and she didn’t even have to give me that dog for it!
So when I saw this headline a couple of days later: ‘Bowwow! Local pet-for-product swaps trendy,’ it caught my attention as a stupid synchro, a harmless trickster trick.
Here’s a good dog synchro: My husband and I were watching a Corgi dog video on Saturday. I told him I wanted a Corgi and he said – what about another Golden? (We have had two goldens for their lifetimes.) We had guests for dinner that night and guess what showed up at our door at 10:30? A lost Golden Retriever! We have never had a dog show up at our house before and we couldn’t leave her out as it was starting to storm, not to mention, we live in the mountains – other animals hunt at night. We took her to our local shelter the next morning – asking that we be called if the owner could not be found. We then scoured the neighborhood for lost dog signs, asking people if they knew someone who might have lost a GR. We stopped back by the shelter and they said the owner had called and was coming to pick her up – the dog does this all the time, evidently. (My question is why the owner lets their dog do dangerous things and why she had knots all over her…) Anyway, today my husband was on a bike ride and saw the same dog several streets over following way behind a man walking up the street. We have no idea if she was with the man ,or out on her own again. But now I’m thinking maybe another Golden…
Good one, Nancy! I think a golden is definitely in your future!
LOVE that meditating dog picture! A swap is a swap, I guess, but it seems odd when we’re talking about a creature that many of us consider to be family members!
so what’s up with the microwave craze right now i wonder – my son told me yesterday that a friend had just given him a microwave when he’d dropped by for a visit – my son’s old one had quit and he was going to buy a new one but when he had dropped by his friend’s that same day, the friend had one sitting out on his front porch as he’d just gotten a new one – and gave the other one to my son –
Hmm. Microwave: like what’s happening with heat all over the country!
I find this story very distressing.
These animals have feelings. they are living beings.
I thought this was going to be a grim trickster synchro, because I’ve heard stories of people who actually microwaved their (small) dogs after a bath to help dry them faster and, well… you can guess how that turned out. Seriously. Reminds me of the joke in the computer game Maniac Mansion where you can steal Weird Ed’s pet hamster and microwave it, then return the exploded remains to him as a joke, which results in your character becoming a tombstone in the front yard. 🙂
Very amusing! Love the yogic dog.
Maybe not so silly! Maybe Universe answering a need! Universe does work in mysterious ways! I bet the housekeeper was happy to get the microwave. But….I simply can’t imagine trading a pet for an item, unless it’s a genuine breeder with several pups or kittens that need good homes and is bartering. In that case, it sounds plausible. In this economy, bartering is becoming quite common. Infortunately, in last week’s news there was a story about a woman trading her infant for a truck! Unbelievable. Good post, guys. Brings a smile. Hope Nika is doing well!