I always think about babies in the autumn. Last year, embroiled in this PhD, we decided to get a puppy. I spent many days reading about breeds and looking through internet posts of new litters before finally deciding on a German Shorthaired Pointer. Much of me wanted to re-home a dog, and we visited several dogs needing adoption. However, with Anna and her friends, I wanted to know the complete history of the dog and its temperament before committing to love it forever. Eventually, we made our way to the Twaddle residence, where we met Stella and Bruno and their litter of 10 little GSP puppies. We chose the middle-of-the-pack puppy and brought her home on Mother's Day, 2009.
Our dog Belle was a terrible puppy, and for many months I wanted to give her back. She jumped on Anna, nipped Anna, wee-ed on the floor, chewed up everything in sight. When you calculate how much a dog will cost, you take into account Council registration, the puppy price, food and housing, vet bills, spaying. Well, add up all of those figures, then double the amount to reach the true total. Our dog has chewed up hundreds of dollars worth of toys, garden equipment, tools, you name it.
And yet, it's all been worth it. I love having a dog; she finds things, protects the family, genuinely tries to be part of the pack, happily plays fetch for hours, wags her tail when we get home, loves being scratched, is patient with Anna, never fails to initiate conversations with strangers, and is always keen for a run. Belle adds so much to our lives. I have read some books about children who grow up with dogs, and statistically they are more social, more outgoing, and have better body-language skills. I know it has been great for Anna to have me cleaning up after the Belle (rather than her) and getting cross with Belle (rather than her) and just giving Anna the space to be Anna. Only children can have their joy squelched by their over-attentive parents, and I want Anna to have the time and freedom to develop her own ideas about things.
So, while James and I bemoan Belle, chase her, try to heard her into the car and away from seagulls, Anna giggles. When we go on car trips, Anna gets to squeal about having to share the seat with a stinky dog. When I am walking up a creek on the West Coast, I can grumble about sore feet because Belle ate my insoles. It is so liberating to complain about the dog rather than hurting feelings or moaning about world politics!
In closing, I recommend reading a review of The Wolf in the Parlor: the Eternal Connection Between Humans and Dogs by Jon Franklin. In it, the author makes a well-researched scientific argument for his audacious premise that humans and dogs have developed a symbiotic relationship. I kind of like that idea. So, Happy Birthday, Belle, I'm glad that you're One of us.
