I didn’t like animals before. I could passively appreciate their cuteness, but I didn’t fall at my feet for them the way the people around me did. I was unaffected.
And then almost two years ago, my sister asked for my help – she was adopting a dog, a stray from Serbia, and she needed me to drive her to the motorway services just outside the city to collect him. I was happy to help, but I didn’t expect to feel much for the dog. I was also worried – this puppy had probably been through unspeakable things, would he be aggressive? Standoffish? Impossible to train?
Leo, however, was none of those things.
Leo, perhaps because of what he had been through, immediately cuddled up to all of us, ready for everyone’s love. He was unspeakably lovable from the moment I laid eyes on him, and has become even more so as the layers of his personality have unfolded.
This little puddle of fur, this snuffley truffley piglet, this furry seal cub, has singlehandedly changed how my brain works. I get it now. I get why people treasure their pets, what a comfort they are, how strong the compulsion is to protect them.
And I never want to go back to how it was before!

Love, February