“It seems to me that the way you relate to your dog is a subtext to the way you relate to everything and everybody. Since dogs are so transparent, they mirror you back to yourself, and the challenge for us is to take that seriously. With our dogs we wear no masks. A dog speaks the truth to us about ourselves. Yet most of us don’t want to face that.” ~ Maurice Sendak, excerpt from The Art of Raising A Puppy.
Maurice Sendak is no stranger to dogs. As anyone knows who is familiar with his many illustrated books for children and adults, he has always had a profound interest in animals, dogs in particular. “Without even being consciously aware of it, or trying to draw a particular lesson, dogs are in my books as a reflection of my behaviour all the time, of my advance through life…just as [my dog] Jennie changed graphically, started to look better as I learned to draw better, I improved as a person as I drew. “
So here’s to our pups – may we know them and love them and through them – know and love ourselves.
