Simply put, Nature with her immense creative capacity has equipped all her creatures, regardless of their generalized species characteristics, with individuality. Some dogs never quite outlive their puppyhood, retaining elements of youth well within their aged years. Whereas, some like our little Riley transition swiftly from the exuberance of youth to the sobering attitude of adulthood.

Button wasn't like that. There was an essential-to-her lightness of spirit that accompanied her all the days of her life. That spirit remained with her even when she became blind, deaf and psychologically addled. She was fiercely independent and amazingly perceptive. Her loss will remain with us always.

A rare and ephemeral lifting of rejection

Her absence leaves us to focus our attention on Riley, whom even as a tiny puppy Button avoided contact of any kind with. Whereas we thought, when we introduced him into our household, that he would be a companion for Button, nothing of the kind ensued. His puppyish manoeuvres to be friendly with her were rebuffed continually; she was simply disinterested and dismissed him entirely. So she never became a mentor for him, and he never learned, in an intimate setting, to become canine-socialized.

Hiking in New Hampshire

The result was a standoff in communication between the two, a yawning gulf of separateness that we always regretted. And which, we think, accounts for his instant hostility at the presence of dogs he doesn't know. That hostility always dissipates once he has encountered that 'strange' dog several times.

Riley, comfortable on the glider on our deck

Riley is never so comfortable as when he's cuddled with one of us, resting, after a long, hard day of ... relaxation, ambling in the woods, eating, scrutinizing the world go by at his front-door post. He's our little pal, the small creature with whom we have a very mutually satisfactory daily conversation.