Admitting the Weakness.

I met a woman from the village out walking her dogs today. One of them was a replacement for the very old one which died last year, and that brought up the subject of how close we become to our animal companions.

I said that one of the reasons I won’t have a dog of my own is that I get too damn fond of them, and it hurts rather a lot when they go. And the older the dog gets, the more the prospect of the inevitable parting troubles me. She said that she knows a man in the next village who won’t have a dog for just the same reason.

This is, of course, both a cowardly and a negative attitude. What we should be doing is taking joy from the company of the living dog, and then giving thanks for that gift when it goes. Indeed it is, and I’m sure all animal lovers realise it, so there stands yet another black mark against my name.