I had an interesting conversation with my neighbor while walking home from work today:

Me: ‘Hello, Sir. My! What a unique-and-beautiful-looking canine you have there. I’ve been admiring him/her/it for over a year now. What kind of dog is that?’

Man with hideous dog: ‘She’s an afghan.’

Me: ‘Oh. Is she a purebred afghan, or some kind of [insert: alien freakshow monster, clump of tangled hair caught in a shower drain with legs attached, mutant from the planet UglyVille] mix?’

Man with hideous dog, curt, sensing that I do not really believe that his dog is cute: ‘Purebred.’

Me, sensing that he senses my insincerity: ‘Oh, well she’s super cute. She’s…beautiful. I hope you have a great afternoon with your dog!’

Both: Awkward, split second pause. Wave. The End

Seriously though. The dog looked like this.