Pets

In the past two years I have ventured into the world of dog "ownership" - I use inverted commas, because she seems to be able to manipulate me anytime to get what she wants, so I'm not sure who the owner is. I didn't grow up with dogs, so always considered myself to be a cat person - a recognised demarcation in life, you're either a dog or a cat person it seems. Dog people I always perceived to be much more robust than me, I always thought I was too much of a wimp to take charge of a dog. But it's probably been no surprise to my friends and family that bossy little me can come to the fore when required. The first test was stopping her greeting everybody with a big Maia-cuddle, which involved her reaching up full stretch to hold onto the shoulders of any visitors or friends she met in the street. Quite alarming if your not a dog person. I was adament I didn't want to come out with a phrase which had annoyed me intensely in the past (whilst scraping paw prints and mud off my clothes) "Oh, she's just being friendly...!" But I suspect that resolution is up there with - I'll never buy plastic toys or give my child a dummy.

Which brings me to the comparison between pets and children. A contentious issue. I began my adventure with my beautiful greyhound as my friends' children were growing into toddlers and beyond. I found myself biting my lip to avoid saying "Oh, Maia does that..." when they were describing some of their children's antics. It's a common mistake, not approved of by parents in general - childless people likening their pets to a precious child... I can understand, but what can I say? The wish to anthropomorphise is just too great. I can only apologise. Indeed, just like all parents I know with endless kiddie-snaps, my phone is filled with photographs of my dog, because I think she is the most beautiful, funny little soul that ever existed. However, I can see it might appear boring to have hundreds of photos of a black greyhound asleep with her mouth open...

Well, best go take her for an evening walk. Oh there's my friend, "Maia no!...Don't worry she's just being friendly...!"