Dog gone…

A pet = unconditional love.

A pet = unconditional love.

DOGS seem to have been a central topic for me over the past few days, relating to just about everything: 

An automatic compilation by Facebook reminded me that this month marks a year since I lost my beloved Darling. Even now with my precious Boy, not a day goes by that she doesn’t come to mind. We shared so much together through the 16 years; she was my confidant and such an integral part of our entire family for three generations. 

Having this new puppy can never replace her and was certainly not something I anticipated, but now that I have him I can’t thank my kind-hearted Kara enough for thinking of me to give him a forever home. 

He’s totally cute and so very small that when I record at RTV Marbella he gets passed around from one to another, each one reclaiming their turn to ‘babysit’ whilst I’m on set. A couple of times I’ve tried holding him on my lap during an interview, as I used to do with Darling, but his squirrelling up my neck was a clear indication it may be a bit too soon.

In my office he’s far calmer and I love looking at his little face next to me on the desk; far more than I like his spouts of high-pitched yapping that seems to shatter my very being (note to self… get a trainer quickly!).

The responsibility of owning an animal is considerable, but if we also consider the countless benefits, everyone would have one. As an example, whereas I’d be quite happy to sit at home for days on end without venturing out the door, this is not the case with a dog that needs his walk regardless; which is in turn good for me. He is also far more social than me and stops to investigate every pooch that crosses his path and seems quite surprised and perturbed if a passer-by doesn’t want to coo over him; sitting himself down and looking at them in apparent dismay. Not only am I meeting a lot of new people and their pets, I spend a lot of time chuckling at his antics.  He also likes to snuggle.

Different breeds have different traits which makes it easy to find the one that best suits our lifestyle. Marbella’s animal rescue centre Triple A has literally hundreds of furry friends needing a home, particularly now with the new refurbishment works underway and all the animals displaced, there couldn’t be a better time to adopt.

And for all of us with doggies, what a reminder last Friday when the sun was out to see how quickly our pets can dehydrate. Usually Boy will walk for 40 minutes without wanting a drink, but that day he stopped at every restaurant that had water outside and when we got home again drank for ages. Reminder to self, increase my water intake with the increasing heat and no more leaving dogs in cars (children either obviously).

www.nicoleking.es • www.zerohero.es • www.u-n-m.org

Written by

Nicole King

One of Marbella's most glamorous residents, Nicole King offers a taste of the best of what's going on in the Costa del Sol.

Comments