Selectively Juggling

For me it’s alway been about the human-dog connection. Dogs have an incredible ability to show love, emotion, empathy and intelligence. They are the great vaults of human secrets.

On a side note I have had the pleasure of living on a farm from ages 6 to 13. During this time I had a pet pig named Oinkers, who was amazing. One day Oinkers and my two beautiful dogs Herbie (Brindle retired Greyhound) and Sooty (old black retriever) walked themselves to my primary school and proceeded to wait for me and my siblings. It was a surreal image, and a moment that will stay with me forever. I first tasted real heartbreaking grief at age 8, when Sooty passed away. I remember crying so hard that I gave myself a migraine that lasted days. Not much later Herbie passed and that was horrendous and compounded my early grief. Herbie had been my dancing partner, he loved to dance and just be part of all the shenanigans. He had been my confidant.

I also had a pet cow named Moo-wees (yeah creative hey?) She was calm and loving. She would gently place her head on our shoulders. And although extremely gross, she’d try and lick us with her big fat sandpapery tongue . I still can remember the smell of her breath and the gravelly sound her tongue made on my small bare arms.

Coming back to the start, dogs have always held a special place in my heart.

Cats on the other hand, … aren’t for me, and I have a deeply-rooted aversion to them. However I can fully appreciate that for many other people, cats are everything.

Post script – Oinkers had been the litter’s runt and given to us as a teeny-weeny piglet. I fought with my two youngest sisters (I was the 8th child of 10 children) over who got to let Oinkers sit on their lap while watching T.V. In the end the piggy was growing so big and fast that it sat across the three of our small laps, grew too big and too heavy, having to stay outdoors.