This post is in conjuction with Petplan but all thoughts are my own.
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I’ve never made a secret of my love for my dog, Rum. In fact, he’s probably the best friend I’ve ever had. I’ve written blog posts about him before and he even has his own Instagram page where he’s slowly building a loyal following of people who love him just as much as I do.
Our relationship began in October 2015. My family was going through a particularly rocky time. We needed something positive to focus on and it happened when a family friend called and said that her dog, Tiegan, had just given birth to a litter of puppies. Rum was the oldest. He was the first of three little boy dogs, Rum, Eigg and Muck, born on 27th October 2015, and his two brothers were born on 28th October. Our friend sent us a photo of the three of them suckling on their mother and my eyes were automatically drawn to Rum. He had a cute brown face, floppy ears and a little patch on his back. I was in love!
We went to visit the Jack Russell terrier puppies in November that year and I was delighted when Rum literally chose me. He climbed onto my lap and fell asleep, something that neither of his brothers did. Then once things had settled down for Tiegan, we adopted Rum officially the week before Christmas, when he was ready to leave his mother.
Rum grew up with us. We’re the only family he’s ever known. He’s a real human lover. We once went on holiday and chose the best boarding kennel in the area for him, but he was miserable. He thrives in the company of humans! He’s a walking companion to my husband. He was a great support for me during my depression and was frequently the only source of company when I was working from home. The thing that is so touching about Rum’s presence in my family though, is the relationship that has developed between him and my son, Luke. Luke was diagnosed with autism around the same time that Rum came into the world. He wasn’t always able to have two-way conversations the way he does now and he didn’t have any real friends. As soon as Rum joined the family, he had a new friend, a canine brother, and someone to talk to, who wasn’t going to pressure him to talk back. The two of them frequently cuddle up together to watch TV and one of Luke’s pocket money chores is the twice-daily feeding of Rum.
So, you can see why Rum is so important to all of us. He’s a special member of the family and now that I’m working a regular job again and making some decent money, I’m thinking about Petplan insurance. It would be really handy to have. After all, you insure your own life, your car, your home and your gadgets. Why wouldn’t you insure the health of your pet? Dog insurance is not something I’ve looked into extensively yet, but it’s on the list and once I do choose a policy I’ll feel relieved knowing that Rum’s health expenses are going to be covered.
I’ve been having a look through the Petplan and one of the great things about their site is that as well as being functional and providing information about their products and policies, there’s also a lot of information about dog breeds on there. For example, they give tips about how to care for them (walk at least an hour per day and brush once per week) and how long they live. There’s lots of dog breeds to read about on the site as well as a pet IQ test. I’ll be testing Rum soon!
They also did a Pet Census in 2018 and collated data from over 60,000 participants. Did you know that over 40% of dog owners said that their dog is their best friend? Seems I am not alone in my devotion to my pet! They have a whole section about the most popular dog breeds through time on their website, which I would highly recommend reading if you have a spare five minutes. Did you know that the most popular breed during the 1960s and 70s was a poodle? When I was growing up in the 80s, I do remember a lot of old poodles being around, far more than there are now. I was not at all surprised to read about what the favourite breed was in the 2010s because I can see a lot of them around. To find out what it was, hop over to the Petplan site and take a look.
But back to my favourite breed. One of the things I love about Jack Russells is their energy. Rum honestly believes that he is a kangaroo. He jumps around as much as one. I also love their tenacity. Some people might find that their enthusiasm isn’t to their taste, but I love it. If I was a dog, I’d be a Jack Russell, because I identify with those personality traits so that’s probably why I am so drawn to them.
Do you have a dog or other pet that you feel a close connection with? Share a few words about them, or even a pic if possible, in the comments section.
