Petside Items: Pets have feelings too

The more I hear about animal abuse, I wonder what drives a person to justify such harm? For me, the primary issue is that pets DO have feelings, after all, isn’t that why they can help so much with ours? This all came to mind because I’m about to leave for a few days R&R, which means it’s off to the dog boarder for Maxi. We were referred by a good friend to ‘Suzanne,’ who has turned her love of dogs into a business. Some months are slower than others, but for an ‘only’ pet like Maxi, the idea of spending a few days in a fenced in yard with a pack of friendly canines…um, well, actually, we now feel more guilty to bring him back home than we do to drop him off. Most stories are built on the basic boy meets girl theory, and Maxi’s is no different. From the minute Suzanne’s dog Roxie, set eyes on our Max…it was love at first sight. They go through a greeting ritual that involves a wrestling match, nips on the neck and the good old chase up and down the run. Not to be confused with shy, Roxie, an English Springer Spaniel, is usually the chaser. Other laughable matters include the fact that although she stands at least three times larger than Maxi…neither seem to care. And as for any roving eyes, Roxie makes it clear to all other visiting dogs that he is all hers! Once she even jumped on me and blocked me from coming in to take him home! So, all I am saying…having witnessed the true friendship that these two dogs have built, it is impossible to argue that there are no ‘feelings’ attached, and how grateful am I to Suzanne for her nurturing environment). Shame on you who choose to overlook them, and if anyone has information on this abuser in NJ, please do what you can to aid authorities. I’ll be checking out the traveling dogs at the airport, and reporting back with any news. Meanwhile, send in your dog-meets-dog love stories at stories@petside.com