When I think about my dog who I’m very close to and as I have written has very much many human characteristics, he is a smart breed and is emotional and reflective.
When I think about him, I think of him as an individual entity. Yes he was born to a family but his thriving in his livelihood is only dependent on who he is in himself right now and in the environment that he is in. If he has a negative experience with me then he will then have a negative daily life. If he has a positive and exuberant experience with me or any caretaker he then has a better life. To me this shows the difference between nature versus nurture. Of course he does not even remember his mother. And of course he is a dog. But regardless…

But what if I said to Bodhi: yes you live with me but you have a real mother. You are one years old you’re old enough to understand that you live here but your poor mother lives in a shelter in another town. You have a great life here you go to the dog park every day you have a lot of friends you have a very full life. But you came from your mother, and your mother is in a shelter. So now because her life is not as great as yours you will make time every day to attend to her. I will go on daily visits to her to make her feel better. He will say to me: well why, I am happy here and everything is fine so why must I go out of my day, my happy routine just to do that.

I will answer innately and say well because she is your mother. He will then say OK so because she is my mother I then have to take out two hours every day in which I would be happy just to go there to make her think that I am there for her? just to sit there and watch her so that she feels loved? I will say yes because that is what children do.

And then I will ask myself -OK if he does spend this time going there – will his mother be happy? Will she ever get out of the shelter because of his small daily visits, nope. Her getting out of the shelter takes many actions beyond that of his visits, and his efforts can not contribute to thad. Did she gain happiness and validation and emancipation because of his 1 to 2 hour visits to her every day. Nope. But you know what does happen because of those visits?

What happens is that Bodhi was once happy and lively and carefree, the happiest dog in the world, and he is now bogged down and burdened. When he wakes up in the morning I see a sense of despair in his eyes because he knows there any fun that he will have over the afternoon will only be short-lived because he then has to go fulfill his duty at this negative shelter, which is becoming a traumatic experience for him. Sooner or later over the next year or so, this will become a routine for him and so even the things that he once used to enjoy —such as playing ball or meeting his friends —will no longer have the same joy or value. For everything will be tainted because of this burdensome role he has. It will soon be all encompassing emotionally.

And all for what?

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by Cali Chica.