Maud sniffs longer in the winter. Not casually or politely. She lowers her nose to the snow with the intensity of a detective who has just stumbled onto the one detail that explains everything. Her body tightens. Her focus narrows. The rest of the world disappears as she inhales with purpose, tugging me toward snowbanks […]
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We bought a dog bed for Maud when she was a puppy, which in hindsight was very optimistic of us. It was immediately clear she would never use it. Instead, she installed herself in our bed like a permanent fixture, often wedged directly between my husband and me, her head on the pillow with her […]
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Maud was born on Dec. 29, one of those inconvenient, post-Christmas, pre–New Year’s orphaned birthdays that humans tend to resent. People with late-December birthdays always speak in the fragile tones of hostages: “No, it’s fine, really. Christmas counts for both.” It never does. But for a dog, it’s perfect. The humans are home, slightly dazed […]
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In a town full of deer, it’s no wonder that Maud barely turns her head when passing one of the majestic creatures as they graze on home gardens lacking fences and gobble shrubs like they’re feasting on corn on the cob. And, to be fair, the deer in St. Andrews have acquired a quiet confidence […]
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Maud’s favourite beach has always been the one by the Blockhouse in St. Andrews. Since she was a puppy, she’s known its rhythm, its shifting moods, its daily transformations. At low tide, the beach stretches almost to Navy Island, as though the land itself is reaching out to touch its neighbour. It can take ten […]
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Most of the puppies were already spoken for, but Angela, the kennel owner, had one boy and one girl left. “You wanted a girl? She’s in the orange collar,” she said. “We don’t name them—just coloured collars. Their first and only name comes from their family.” Patrick and I had talked about getting a dog […]
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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 […]
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