Animals Unfolded

The first word out of my mouth was likely ‘dog’. This probably isn’t at all surprising to those that know me, and my affinity to provide a better life for animals is closely followed by my interest in people. When I meet someone that’s new-to-me, the topic of pets invariably comes up because of my profession: ‘That’s such an interesting way to spend your days… I love dogs [or cats]…’, and the conversation goes from there. What I’m struck by most is learning about the life that the person has with their pet (or in some cases, they might be in-between pets, but they’ll muse about companion animals from their past), and if they’re drawn specifically to dogs, cats or some other species of housepet. It’s fascinating to hear stories of their preferences that have changed over time. Quite often, people become more open to sharing life with a species that may differ from what they grew up with, or what is completely different than they’re used to even much later in life. We’re an amena...

The other day, I ran across an article written by David Valdes Greenwood that piqued my interest, and for a lot of reasons. The topic was resonant: the interaction between children and dogs. As someone who lives and works with canines everyday, I know that teaching children about how to mindfully share life with dogs is likely the most important legacy that we can leave. Dogs and kids -- they go together, there's no doubt. But because of their young age and lack of experience, children need positive exposure, supervision and lots of help from mindful adults in gaining the finesse to co-exist with four-footed friends safely and happily. Greenwood mused about a potential outcome from his 8 year-old daughter's interactions with the family's 2 year-old miniature Schnauzer in a way that was nothing short of alarming. The child was closely interacting with the dog, rubbing his tummy, then at one point playing with his muzzle in a way that caused him to display displeasu...