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inanna

(3,547 posts)
Mon Dec 15, 2014, 11:44 AM Dec 2014

I didn't need the pope to tell me animals have souls. I have a dog (The Guardian)

When my parents divorced after 25 years, our family’s 10-year-old standard poodle, Chloe, came to live with me in a small studio on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She was big and brown, and her eyes told me that she was as sad and freaked out as I was that we had all broken apart. I was 24 years old at the time, but I felt like an abandoned little girl. Chloe and I used to lie on the floor together, listening to Joni Mitchell, as I rubbed her tummy and felt my anxious, racing breath slow down. She made me feel like I wasn’t alone.

But in our first couple months together, whenever I would tie her to the meter outside the deli for five minutes and run in to grab some milk and tomato soup, she would bark wildly – a howling that seemed completely disproportionate to my short absence. I always poked my head outside the door and told her, “I’ll be right there”, trying to quiet her.

One day, it occurred to me that my promises didn’t mean anything to her. Words were words. She might have understood “cookie” and “sit” and “down”, but trust was something I had to prove to her.

It took a while, but eventually Chloe stopped barking when I would tie her up. She knew I was coming back for her. We helped each other heal.

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/14/i-didnt-need-the-pope-to-tell-me-animals-have-souls-i-have-a-dog

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I didn't need the pope to tell me animals have souls. I have a dog (The Guardian) (Original Post) inanna Dec 2014 OP
I grew up hearing that "dogs don't have feelings" inanna Dec 2014 #1
Awwwww. narnian60 Dec 2014 #2
He is very precious to us. inanna Dec 2014 #3
Perfect pic. narnian60 Dec 2014 #4

inanna

(3,547 posts)
1. I grew up hearing that "dogs don't have feelings"
Mon Dec 15, 2014, 12:46 PM
Dec 2014

Last edited Mon Dec 15, 2014, 02:31 PM - Edit history (2)

or they "can't express emotions."

I think most in this group tend to feel otherwise.

My little man, "Billy":



inanna

(3,547 posts)
3. He is very precious to us.
Tue Dec 16, 2014, 06:13 PM
Dec 2014

It was my daughter who snapped this photo of him. I'm just not that handy with the camera...lol

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