Nature Abhors a Vacuum Cleaner

Ho-hum. Yes, I too acquired a pet during the pandemic. Formerly a cat person, I switched allegiances to canines when Tessa, an English cocker spaniel, came to live with us late in January 2021. She was eight weeks old, adorable, and lots of trouble, but what baby isn’t? Now almost two, she no longer chews rugs, tuques, and eyeglasses — knock on wood — although she remains an incorrigible swiper of shoes left on doorsteps, solitary gloves dropped on the floor, and underwear casually tossed onto piles of soiled laundry. She is also a retriever of twigs, tennis balls, and half-gnawed bones, which she buries under bushes in the backyard for future delectation or hides like land mines in the intricate patterns of our best Persian carpet. I share with my neighbours a futile hope that I will be able to curb her bounding morning barkfests as she defends our urban freehold against marauding squirrels, cats, and raccoons. Despite these annoying...