We’ve had a fluffy addition to the family, Scott. Custard, the Maltipoo joined us in time for Christmas - a photo of him plonked in the church’s straw-filled manger, sandwiched between my kids to prove it. I think we’ve worked our way through all the big hitters of dog ownership bingo; dressing him up, muddy paw prints everywhere, referring to myself as a ‘Dog Mum’ and sourcing more treats than I can either house, or that Custard is deserving of. (The house training is still underway shall we say.)
Our little pup is the offspring of, get this, the smallest poodle in Scotland (clearly the best accolade going) whose name happens to be, Teddy – the name of both my son and, I know through your stalking your socials, Scott, your own Cavapoo, too! So, I’m confident the puppy love reigns strong in this studio.
Now the plunge into puppy parenthood has been a chewy whirlwind so far; no rug or slipper is safe. But my overriding feeling is what a gift it all is - and how amazing that something that began thousands of years ago as a mutual-services-contract between two species has blossomed into the puppuccino / dog-ice-cream filled lovefest that it is now.
We’ve chatted a lot as a family about the best bits of having our four-legged companion: the wag-filled greetings and sofa snugs are right up there, as are the little exchanges with other pet-parents as we connect over some dog-talk in the park - and it's always nice to be reminded of all that research showing how they lower our stress (just looking at your faithful friend in the eyes can boost oxytocin for the pair of you I’m told).
But I think I’ve landed on the greatest perk of life with a pooch-in-tow – and it’s the daily dose of an important reminder. Because dogs have a much greater capacity for contentment than people. The small things are his big things. The people, the belly rubs, the food, the walks, the naps…
The great C. S. Lewis wrote: ‘we treat our dogs as if they were “almost human”, that is why they really become “almost human” in the end. I love this but would add one tailpiece – that they might just be teaching us the tricks we need to sniff out the good life already.