“He talks to her like she is his baby, but also his new wife,” says Leila Cohen of her father, Jeffrey Cohen of his beloved boxer, Gracie. “As a child, I’m not even sure he ever looked me in the eye.”
According to Leila, her father Jeffrey takes his dog to the park with an enthusiasm that rivals the birth of her younger brother, Jonathan. Leila notes that Jeffrey asks the purebred if he wants wet or dry food with a subtext that says, “I like you more than I like my human daughter.”
Leila claims that her Dad has several phrases that he uses on a daily basis with the purebred canine, such as, “Who’s my little girl?”, “You’re such a good girl!”, “Daddy loves you! “Yes he does!” and “You never disappoint me like my daughter did when I paid for her to go to two years of law school. You’re my favorite daughter now.”
Leila reports that she is resentful that he shows more interest in the dog than he did while she was growing up. “He takes her to the dog park and to Petsmart for a new chew toy almost every weekend. Where was he when I was throwing a softball against the garage alone every Saturday?”
When asked how he feels about his daughter, Jeffrey replied, “The blonde?” When corrected on the point that his only daughter has red hair, he replied, “Really? I always thought she was a blonde!”
“I’m moving on… because clearly he has,” said Leila, as her father surprised Gracie with a new fall sweater.
