Six years and six months of Cerise

August 2016 and Cerise is sat in the garden, deep in thought. Eight months earlier she’d left a puppy farm and joined our home. She was our Christmas adoption, five weeks after the death of Susie-Belle. Am I obsessing over dates, numbers, time? Sometimes this trait to mark every event by hooking it to another gets weird. My memory leads me into rabbit holes I don’t wish to revisit. On the other hand, it’s useful. It’s rare I forget anything especially when the dogs are involved.

That summer day in the garden, we didn’t know it but Cerise had a long way to travel in her mind before she’d reach her peaceful spot in the world. Naively I recall having in my mind that passing her first anniversary of adoption would bring significant, positive changes. Then December came and the following spring and summer and I eventually let go of my time fixation and knew Cerise would do things her way.

Now I know more, I understand I wasn’t realistic in her first year. Just hopeful. Just because Susie-Belle showed her happiness after a year and for Twinkle, who was more complicated it was around eighteen months there was no reason to expect Cerise to heal at any pace other than her own.

But I’d hoped Cerise would be somewhere in between Susie-Belle and Twinkle as she seemed to be in both character and behaviours. Or was I just projecting what I wanted and thought was the case? On the basis of nothing other than missing Susie-Belle and an optimism for Cerise’s new life. Intellectually I know every dog is unique. Emotionally I couldn’t help myself fitting Cerise into my expectations. I should have known better.

I am thankful for the lesson she has taught me. Every. Dog. Is. Unique.

It was to be another few years of hard work on her part before Cerise’s problems seemed mostly under control. Today, six and a half years on, we definitely know she is happy. She is peaceful in mind for the majority of time. When she isn’t it’s due to outside factors which aren’t unique to her background. Thunderstorms are awful for her but they are for many dogs with no trauma in their life.

Over the last six and a half years Cerise has conquered the demons which dragged her down and down again and back to her past, relentlessly for far too long. The years she spent in the breeding industry harmed Cerise badly. Her overall physical health has been mercifully robust. She’s a little tank of physical strength. But emotionally the damage was deep. We lacked – lack – the knowledge which may have accelerated her healing.

But an abundance of patience, and infinite love and a rock solid commitment to doing our best for her, helped move us along together to the peaceful shared world we now enjoy. The breeding industry, the world over, harms millions of dogs like Cerise. Most will never know peace, nor love. They will live and die in the miserable places in which they’re born. That is the reality which lies behind tens of millions of puppies bought by people today.

I am honoured, every day to learn lessons from Cerise.