In Praise of Dogs

Argus article : Why loving a mutt can be a lesson to us all

I sit amid the ruins of my once fairly ordered life.

There was a time when I could write in relative peace. On writing days my husband and daughter would leave for work and school and then I’d work. Our dog Mickey was my only companion and, as a rule, he’d lie quietly in the house or soak up the sun in the garden. He was rarely any trouble.

Mickey died shortly before Christmas, almost certainly as the result of a brain tumour. He could never be supplanted in our affections, but he has been replaced. A little whirlwind has taken up residence on Mickey’s turf and turned our lives upside down. Continue reading