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They save us too

How we saved each other

By Rebecca HaddockPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
2
Enjoying a walk through the forest

Recent events have seen the world change in a way that most adults have never seen before. From school closures to international travel bans the lives of many people have changed drastically in the last year.

Nearly a year ago we were faced with the arrival of Covid-19 and we had no idea how much impact it would have on our lives. I, like many others, thought lockdown would last two weeks and then life would be back to normal. How wrong we were. Living on your own gives you an immense amount of freedom however when we were no longer allowed to visit other people it suddenly became more like solitary confinement. Many people became lonely as more and more people were instructed to stay home, work from home, have shopping delivered, avoid busy places. There was only one reason that I stayed sane. My four legged friend, Spud the spaniel.

In February 2019 I met a shy and scared 8 month old spaniel cross at a local rescue centre. He had been kept in a small crate for the whole of his short life, not trained, not walked, not loved. The very next day I brought him home. The previous year had been incredibly difficult as I started to suffer from severe anxiety and it worsened until I was left unable to leave my home alone. Having always had dogs my house felt empty without one but was I doing the right thing looking for a dog. I couldn’t have a puppy because I had a job and it always broke my heart to see so many senior dogs in shelters. I originally enquired about older dogs but when getting to know me the rescue centre advised that Spud and I might be a good match, the only issue being that I was looking for an older dog. Being young Spud would easily find a new home I thought. But then I met him. And fell in love. As soon as I put him in the car I think he knew he was home.

As the months went on my mental health improved drastically. I had a reason to be strong, and fearless. Spud was nervous enough for the both of us. But slowly he became more and more confident, within months he stopped running from other dogs, and strangers. He began to make doggy friends and play in the park. He was loving life. And so was I. We took to walking through the countryside, up hills, through the forest. The only thing left to conquer is water. He’s still not a fan of getting his feet wet. He has come so far in the past two years, he enjoys agility and doing tricks, as long as there are treats involved still. We both benefitted from being each other’s best friend.

When lockdown 2.0 was announced back in October I instantly went into meltdown. I didn’t need another excuse to not leave the house, to not go into shops, to not go to work but that is what we were facing. Luckily I was still working, still interacting with many people each day which kept some level of normality. However on New Year's eve it was announced that Britain was once again going into lockdown, a much stricter lockdown. This meant working from home, no countryside walks or exploring. It was bizarre. But the one constant is Spud and it has been lovely not having to leave him whilst I go to work everyday however he is definitely missing his dog sitter.

When everything gets too hard to handle or too overwhelming to think about there is one thing I know will bring me back down to Earth and help me to remain level headed. It is amazing what the love of a pet can do for us, not just them.

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