Happy Thursday, Positive Animal Caregivers! ♡🐾
I had the joy of taking a slow stroll in Hong Kong the other day, trailing behind a dog walker and his three dogs along a sidewalk barely wide enough for the rest of us. The people around us, seemingly all participants in an Olympic speed walking event, were less than impressed. The dog walker did not appear to notice. Or perhaps he did, and simply did not care. At one point, he hoisted the oldest dog onto his shoulder, soaked in sweat and unbothered by the crowd, and kept walking.
Dogs in Hong Kong live differently than many dogs in the West. They are kept inside shoebox-sized apartments. Most people do not own cars, and with animals banned from public transport, trips to the countryside are rare. Smaller breeds — better suited to tight quarters — are especially popular. So are strollers, protecting tiny paws from the chaos at street level.
From a distance, it can all look slightly inadequate. Constrained. A compromise.
I once volunteered in Sri Lanka, where many dogs roam freely. Most sleep outside. Some are inevitably hit by cars. Veterinary care can be inconsistent. Yet I remember people — even those who hardly had enough for themselves — sharing meals with strays outside corner shops. I remember children walking long distances to bring puppies to vaccination clinics. The longer I spend around animals, the less confident I become that love announces itself in easily recognizable ways.
Perhaps that is why a survey released this week caught my attention: 35% of Gen Z pet owners said they trust their pet’s judgment of other people more than their own. A slightly absurd statistic, until you think about how often humans misread one another.
Seeing old friends again during this trip, I spent much of the past two weeks listening to relationship postmortems. Couples who once seemed inseparable have fallen apart. Others nobody expected to last are quietly building good lives together. We like to think we are skilled at identifying compatibility, devotion, permanence. The evidence suggests otherwise.
The human-pet relationship is even harder to evaluate. Yet at the animal shelter, we attempt to measure potential adopters who walk in every day. Do you have a yard? What hours do you work? How much would you spend annually on veterinary care? Like nervous parents arranging a marriage, we gather evidence and try to predict the future from it.
And, to be fair, some of these questions matter. A dog will probably live a healthier life with access to good medical care than without it. Space matters. Stability matters. Resources matter.
But I keep thinking about the man in Hong Kong carrying his old dog through the heat.
He would probably fail the yard question.
I am no longer entirely sure that means what we think it means.
RECOGNITIONS
Small acts of care often look ordinary until someone pauses long enough to notice them. This week, a few things worth noticing:
Last year, English horticulturists Monty Don and Jamie Butterworth designed a garden for the Chelsea Flower Show. Rather than dismantling it afterward — the fate of most show gardens — it was relocated to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, where dogs now wander through the greenery instead. A surprisingly tender afterlife for a display piece.
Animal torture in Iowa officially became a felony this week after legislation signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. With that, all 50 states now classify animal torture as a felony offense. Progress sometimes arrives loudly. Sometimes it arrives as paperwork.
The Dodo recently highlighted Marley’s Mutts’ Pawsitive Change Program, which pairs incarcerated individuals with shelter dogs for rehabilitation on both sides of the leash. We often talk about pets as recipients of care. Less often as participants in it.
If you have a win worth sharing — your own or someone else’s — reply to this email. I’d love to hear about it.
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HAPPENINGS
Mark your calendars for these upcoming opportunities to connect with others:
Jun 1 - The Shift to Prevention
BEFORE YOU GO
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Thanks for spending part of your day with me and the rest of the Positive Animal Caregivers Club. Take care of yourself this week. Remember - even superheroes need naps.
– Philip