Every time dog-lover Mae Doll sees a canine, she asks their owner if she can pet them. So, the New Orleans-based dog groomer recently decided to cut out the middle man, getting "May I please pet your dog?" tattooed on her hands.
"I've actually wanted this tattoo for close to 10 years," the 28-year-old told Newsweek. "I'm super happy."
Doll has always loved dogs. Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, she begged her parents for one of her own. By sixth grade, she'd finally worn them down and adopted Sadie—"the sweetest beagle there ever was."
"She quickly became my best friend and helped me through some of the darkest times in my life and just the drama of being an outcast in high school in general," Doll said.
After moving out on her own aged 23, Doll decided to adopt Jack, a rescue dog being given away for free online.
"I always say that he's the 'best zero dollars that I've ever spent,'" Doll said. "The year that I adopted him, he helped me leave an abusive relationship, and since then, we've been on countless adventures."
Shortly afterwards, Doll added rescue dog Winter to the "pack." She is also fostering a puppy, a Blue Heeler and husky mix called Jack.
Doll had wanted the tattoo for a long time, after spotting a similar idea on Facebook. However, she decided to wait until she was more heavily tattooed to add artwork to her hands.
The design was completed by Stacey Colangeo, an artist at Ace Tattoo in New Orleans. "She was excited for me. She's known that I had wanted it done for a while, and I finally got the courage to do it," Doll said.
She hasn't had the chance to try her tattoo out on unsuspecting dog owners yet. However, she was inundated with offers on Facebook's Dogspotting Society group, where a snap of her design received over 8,000 reactions.
"I just found my next tattoo," commented Christian Ureno, while Emily Schroeder wrote: "Absolutely iconic."
"I'm obsessed," agreed April Lee, while Morgan Hill posted: "Gives new meaning to Throwing Hands."
"Kayla would love some pets," posted Sarah Midkiff, alongside a picture of her own dog.
"Teddy says you may approach," wrote Molly Fuller, while Heaven Leigh Kinney added: "Batman says yes please."
"You may. Always. Whenever you'd like. No protests from him," posted Bethany DC, while China Alexandria commented: "The dog hair on the shirt makes this whole post that much better."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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