If I was going to write a tribute to Bea I would be here until the end of time. She was “perfect princess baby girl” to Joe and I, and we adored every inch of our little mouse dog. Whatever she meant to us though, she meant so much more to Sam.
She was his Polaris, his North Star, his guiding light. The one who corrected him, supported him, taught him. He absolutely adored her and she cheerfully tolerated him. She came into a home at the same time as him but she just got it. Queen Bea had found her kingdom and sofa throne – this was exactly as it was meant to be for her. Soft sofas and bed cuddles and always a human to dote on her and cuddle her. Sam just didn’t get that for the longest period of time – but he slowly followed her example and learnt from her. Without Bea we wouldn’t have the SamBoop we know and love.
Our world may have fallen apart when we lost Bea but Sam’s imploded. He had never been without another dog in his life. We can’t thank our local greyhound cult enough for all the support of their dogs at that time – we had continual walking buddy offers and doggy sleepovers for company for Sam. Without them, the loss of Bea would have been even harder to bear than it was. We got through it as best as we all could in some shape or form.
It changed things though. And I don’t mean the gaping hole she left that nothing can fill – I still half expect to hear her bark at 3pm to remind us it’s nearly dinner time or to be nudged awake in the middle of the night for her to be given permission to jump into her with us (every night without fail). It changed Sam’s perceptions and interactions with the world in a way that we needed expert assistance to support and continue to do so.
Sam had never made a decision in his life to that point. The racing industry made them all for him, then when he could, Bea made them for him in her own way. If Bea ignored the other dogs, cats, squirrels so did Sam. If Bea approached someone for a fuss and treat, so did Sam. Without Bea to tell him what to do, Sam struggled to make good life choices.
Sam has a reasonably high degree of anxiety about life in general – he likes things to be routine and predictable and just so. When confronted with a dog he didn’t know, he no longer had Bea to hide behind. Dogs he would have previously ignored he now became reactive towards – not all but some. We got behaviourist – trainer experts involved and the conclusion was unanimous – fear aggression. He’s scared so he’s reacting so the other dog doesn’t get a chance to first. We’ve taken up walking with roast chicken rewards, other reliable dogs and allowing him within reason to make the choice for how to interact. His first choice is always avoidance – we were moving him away unnecessarily and probably making the situation worse by teaching him that he needed to be moved away. We are learning how to support him however we can – we are no substitute for his Polaris but we are slowly working on giving him what he needs.
Which brings us nicely on to Maisy…..