I’ve always connected to animals. From raising strays in secrecy from my parents to sleeping in the dog house to snuggle with country pets, as a kid, animals were so kind compared to the world of people that filled my day with hell at school. As an adult, I had 2 cats and always wanted a dog. But the attentions a dog needed, I perceived as interupting my number one comfort zone & biggest sense of autonomy, my job. Then came the kids and that perception grew. Neither T or I ever raised a dog as an adult. The universe drew T to Kuma & I embraced. The coicidences were many from the choice of breed to how we got him. I cannot express sufficiently how his existence saved my life, a pure and unconditional connection that requires no masking. Through Kuma, my anger could not dismiss T as easily as it had with others in the past. It doesn’t mean my perceived autonomy won’t prevail one day, but it slowed sharp defense mechanisms enough for me to see, to care and eventually, to work on myself to nuture my connection with him.