HEART BEAT AT MY FEET Age is Not Just a Number, Ageing Pets Need Us the Most

It’s something that non-pet parents, in plain speak – people who have never had pets, who will never understand that like humans, each and every animal has its own distinct personality, its own personal characteristics and traits which vary enormously

That they are given to moods, that they behave according to what they have been endowed with naturally, genetically.

Traits such as calmness, fearlessness, boldness or timidity, playfulness, gentleness. Every dog speaks with his tail but every dog does not speak with his eyes or head tilt. Body language is also a personality trait. And it is not as if all dogs of a particular breed will have similar traits, not at all. Each one is an individual.

As readers of this column will know, I am a Lhasa Apso person. Have been studying them for 20 years now. Have had two, each pretty much as different from the other, as perhaps chalk and cheese. By which I don’t mean one is better than the other, just absolutely different. And that is the reason for this column. I am now worried. I will soon tell you why.