We Don't Have A Dog

For the will and not the gift makes the giver.
-- Ephraim Gotthold Lessing

My husband came back from a business trip with an unexpected gift in tow. Apparently, he wandered into a NYC bookstore and happened to see a knitting book on sale, sot he go this for me:

For many reasons, I was quite surprised and a little puzzled by this gift. First of all, my husband has never bought me anything knitting related of his own volition, and this was certainly a nice gesture. (He did begrudging go to an LYS to find me some knitting needles upon my request once.) Secondly, we don't have any dogs, nor are we planning to get one in the near future -- 3 spoiled cats, 0 dogs and some ugly black widows lurking in our yard. Thirdly, my husband has not really asked me to knit anything for him -- he once requested socks, but at my prompting, and as a joke, he once asked for a pirate's eye patch for the fat one.
My husband doesn't really wear sweaters either. The only time he bought sweaters in the 7-8 years we've been together was when Amazon had a great sale on them. Knowing him and his sense of humor, he probably thought getting this book would be ironic and funny, and that I'd probably appreciate anything knitting. However, just to be sure, I asked him if we wanted one of the sweaters in the book or if it was a hint for me to knit him a sweater. He doesn't want one.

Thankfully, he didn't waste his money, even if he meant it as a joke. The patterns in this book don't look as crappy as the title sounds. There are some nice sweaters and many cute doggie things, like the ones in the photo below. Maybe the cute dogs camouflage some of the uglier ones, like the hat on the cover or the variegated yoke pullover on page 32.

Well, whatever my husband's reason for getting this book, I will cherish it and appreciate his first knitting gift to me. Perhaps he or my dad will want me to knit them a sweater one day.