The Little Bear Dog Blog

When I adopted each of my animals, I made them a promise. It was quite simple and there were no bells, whistles or points of ceremony. The promise was that they were home. Forever.

Home is an incredibly powerful concept and not just for those of us with a cortex capable of deep and meaningful navel gazing either. To be home is to belong; to relax in the knowledge that you’re safe and loved. It’s the keystone that allows us to spread our wings and live.

For Camden Cat, I was her fifth home, having been passed around from pillar to post as couples split up, moved house, married and had kids and other pets. Five years later I think she’s secure in the knowledge that we’re together for life. Little Bear too has the air of one who’s grounded in enough love to know that even the worst of behaviour will never see him out on the street. Annie still has a little more believing to do, but she wears her joy so openly that I’m sure she’s not too far off the mark now.

Security is vitally important for our animals. They depend on us for their very survival and by taking them on we have to remember that commitment.

Inconvenience

Chatting to a friend the other day, he mentioned that his sister-in-law, although ‘devoted’ to the dog, was now, after many years, going to re-home him.  I asked what he’d done and was horrified by the answer. This darling dog had done nothing wrong, he’d merely become an inconvenience.  They found him expensive to keep and foreign holidays were becoming ‘awkward’.

So, just like that, these ‘devoted’ dog lovers were planning to abandon their friend to an uncertain fate.  I’ve heard many a terrible tale about people being forced into giving up their dogs through marriage break-up, illness, bankruptcy etc, but these are the ones I find the most sickening.

I think my next post will be about all the awful bits about sharing your life with a dog. Maybe us dog lovers paint too rosy a picture of the canine-human bond, lulling the floating voter, Siren-like onto the rocks of a long-term commitment they’re not prepared for. Or maybe we’re a fickle species with scant regard for the emotional capacity of others and a predisposition for breathtaking selfishness.