human's best friend.

only recently have i realised how grateful i am for dogs. a strange opening sentence you may think, but a true statement nonetheless. some are a cat person, some are a dog person, some are another kind of person, and some are none. but i am definitely a dog person.

in recent weeks i have spent more time around dogs and noticed how much of a calming effect they can have on me; they ease anxiety, lift sadness and in general bring a smile to my face. we recently adopted a rescue dog; a staffie bull terrier named Jade, and lovingly nicknamed dobby when she lifts her ears and tilts her head slightly every now and then. it's been wonderful to see how her presence has made such a difference in my sisters life, and has had a knock on effect for the rest of us too.

it's surprisingly nice to be woken up by a dog poking her head up to the side of your bed in the mornings, jumping on you for a quick cuddle and then half hour later making sure you're up and downstairs (because if you're not you're getting a wet nose all over your hand...) and throughout the day or in the evenings being good company when needed.

however, recently i've also seen another side of how having a dog can be beneficial and also kind of a sad thing too. i stayed in a house with five dogs last week, one of their owners had recently passed away and slowly you watched them sense something was up. the day we arrived they were full of energy, bouncy and lively dogs; as our visit neared the end the characteristics slowly changed and they all became more subdued and followed their other owner around a lot more, keeping them company and clearly sensing a sadness and emptiness in the air. waiting for their human to arrive back home, laying by the gate hoping they'd return once more and eventually it sinking in and lying on the sofa with a solemn glimpse in their eye.

dogs love humans just as much as we love them; and i think it's fair to say when we lose a best friend we'll be sad, but oddly i'd never thought of it from a dogs point of view. i don't know where i was going with this blog post, just appreciating dogs, life and seeing a life event through another species eyes to help my brain a little bit i think.

- til next time,
evan.