HM Blog on the Dignity of Animals

Watching my well-known and lovable dog, "Silky", succumb last week to an ever-worsening bone-cancer, caused me one or two more moments of reflection than usual and it's only procrastination that has prevented them from being recorded. I don't need to preach to the converted if there are dog-lovers reading this, but the sense of loss of companionship is huge when one of your faithful friends is no longer around. What that re-inforces for me is our need to have and to maintain relationships that keep us feeling connected, whether they're with animals, humans or, ideally, with both. One of the endearing features of my dog is that she had, as they say in Scotland," no side to her", in other words, what you saw was what you got - all the time. There's a lesson there for us, just as there's so much to admire in the stoic, dignified way that these creatures deal with significant health issues. They're never too sick or pre-occupied with how they are feeling to wag their tails and want to give us some affection!

The love is unconditional, the affection spontaneous. The loyalty is constant, the consistency amazing. The trust is readily available and the forgiveness equally accessible. Are there elements in that list that we humans prize? Perhaps Silky's greatest achievement, apart from all the fun we had outside, has been to cause this poor dog-owner to appreciate even more the important things in life and to remind me that learning is a constant activity and it comes from all sorts of sources, all the time. Even going outside regularly, to "smell the roses" is an eminently sensible approach to life. Thanks, Silky - miss you!