"I'm Wild Too, Though, Right?"

Barley, a dog, glances somewhat meekly over her shoulder in front of a copy of the book “Wild Animals I Have Known.”

When happening upon this book at the Free Stuff table at a potluck, I immediately thought, “Oh wow, I know a wild animal! Let’s get a photo of you two together!” Because of all the people around that Barley wanted to spend the whole event saying hi to, however, she was quite reluctant to sit for the photo, and was clearly doing so under protest while I was cajoling her and lining up the shot. Now, viewed without context, it feels like she’s being sort of sheepish in the face of the unattainable standards of wildness depicted on this cover. Don’t worry, Barley, you’ll always be my wild animal.