06/02/2026
Quinzee - The Only Child
"Who's Your Doggy" Vol 3
The Only Child
I have always known exactly where I stand. In this house, I am not simply loved, I am the sun. Everything else orbits around me, and I carry that naturally, and without apology.
My mom, Alisha, is my person. My anchor. My whole world. She is the one who chose me, and I have never once taken that lightly. There is a love between us that doesn't need words, it never has. I don't need to follow her from room to room to know where she is or how she's feeling. I just know. We have become fluent in each other.
Vince is there too. I'm very fond of him, the way you're fond of a good backup plan. But Alisha is mine, and I make sure she feels it. If she gives her attention to one of the neighbours' black Labs, I will walk directly over and lick that neighbour on the face. Let her think about what she's done.
For the first two years of my life, I didn't bark. There was simply no reason to.
Until the day I saw her cry for the first time. Alisha had just learned her aunt had passed, and something in me shifted before I even knew what I was doing. I barked. It surprised them. It surprised me. I hadn't known I had it in me. And when her mom fell and needed help, I barked again, and I didn't stop until someone came. Some things you don't learn about yourself until the moment calls for it.
That's the thing about loving someone the way I love her. You don't just receive it, you guard it. Quietly, until the moment comes when quiet is no longer enough.
I am particular. Poised. Perhaps a little judgy. But I am also the one who stays. The one who notices.
Because she's mine. And that has always been reason enough.