Home > FEATURES > For the Love of Maud: Chapter 1: The Beginning Starts Somewhere in the Middle

For the Love of Maud: Chapter 1: The Beginning Starts Somewhere in the Middle

Maud turned six this winter, and I’ll turn 46 in the spring. By the old rule of seven dog years to one human year, that makes us peers for a fleeting moment. It’s strange to think that, come my birthday, Maud and I will share the same age—two beings on entirely different timelines, meeting briefly at the same mile marker. In the poetry of this moment lies the quiet realization that I will outlive her and that our roles will someday shift in ways I’m not yet ready to imagine.

The day my husband Patrick and I brought her home, I had no idea what Maud would teach us. She’s my first dog, and I thought I understood what I was signing up for: the walks, the feedings, the routine. I didn’t grasp that I was inviting a whole new understanding of life and love into my world.

When Maud was a puppy, I taught her the basics: sit, stay, and don’t chew your Dad’s socks. But she taught me the deeper lessons: patience, joy, and how to savour life’s quiet, unassuming moments. There’s a magic in seeing the world through a dog’s eyes. To Maud, a tumbling leaf on a fall afternoon is a reason to run and play with reckless abandon; a patch of sunlight on the floor is an invitation to lie down and rest in the warm blanket of the beams. She reminds me, again and again, that love doesn’t need language—it’s in the excited wag of a tail, the gentle press of her head against my knee, and in the full trust she gives me every time she follows me not knowing where we are going or what’s in store. 

I didn’t meet my husband early enough to have children with him—we met when I was 38 and he was 46—so Maud has become our whole family. And somehow, she rose to the occasion. It’s as if she knew. She’s filled the spaces we didn’t realize were empty, weaving herself into the fabric of our lives. What started as a simple decision to bring a dog home became one of the most profound partnerships I’ll ever have.

Maud loves long walks, stealing socks and giving hugs.

But dogs live life on fast-forward. Each passing year is a reminder of the strange deal we make when we bring them into our lives. We nurture them through their youth, only to watch them age faster than seems fair. I know that one day, far sooner than I’d like, we will find ourselves playing a new role: caretaker.

Maud isn’t there yet, and hopefully won’t be for years to come. She’s still vibrant and playful, though a little calmer than her younger self. In her middle age—much like my own—her boundless energy has softened into something gentler. We are both content to crawl back into bed on a lazy Sunday morning, relishing in the simple bliss of doing nothing together.

This is one of the great paradoxes of dogs: they are a mirror for our lives, compressed into a smaller, sharper arc. They teach us what it means to grow up, to grow old, and to let go. And yet, in the face of it all, they show us how to live fully in the present, to love without condition, and to embrace every moment of the journey.

If there’s a heaven—and I like to think there is—I know that when Maud leaves me one day, she will be there waiting for me. Her tail will wag when she sees me, and she’ll jump up to kiss me because I’ve never told her not to. I love it too much. She’ll lead me forward, as she always has, her trust unwavering, her love infinite.

For now, though, we are here together, six and almost 46, two lives, middle-aged and intertwined. Every day, Maud reminds me that life is fleeting, but love endures. And in the everyday miracle of her companionship, Maud has given me everything.

 

This ongoing column by CHCO-TV news director Vicki Hogarth explores life with her beloved dog, Maud, from her playful puppy days to her current role as a four-legged TV personality. Through humourous and heartfelt anecdotes, Vicki shares the joys, lessons, and special moments that come with having Maud as both a companion and a constant source of inspiration.

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  1. Pingback : For The Love Of Maud | Chapter 2: A Valentine For Valentine’s Day - CHCO-TV26

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