Andrew Cotter > Quotes

“But let us, in the way of Labradors, be upbeat and optimistic and think more about what dogs bring us than what they leave. Besides, there is a cycle of rebirth with dogs. Not a literal reincarnation, but no matter how much you love one single dog, another can appear and take over the vital task performed entirely unwittingly but oh so reliably--to give us love and to receive it and to help steer us through this strange world. We will always hold on to the memories of the ones we have had but also let another come in, one who will pick things up as if to say, "It's okay... it's my turn now." And that is the power of a dog.”
― Andrew Cotter, Olive, Mabel and Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs

“So yes, I know what it means when I come in to be met by the tapping of tails on the floor. It's the same thing I know when I'm in another room in the evening and there is a whinny at the door, which is opened to let Olive trot in and curl up in the bed beside my sofa. I know it when she is caught in a quiet reverie, simply staring at me. Yes, her thoughts may often be tangled up with equally strong Labrador feelings of wanting stuff, but I know there is also a deep content, perhaps a sensation of safety and affection. I hear it when she sighs a long, happy exhalation in her bed. I see it when she comes to sit next to me and I feel it when she leans, ever so slightly, against my legs. I just know.”
― Andrew Cotter, Olive, Mabel and Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs

“Yet in writing about your dogs, you very quickly realize that you are writing about all aspects of your life, because there isn’t really a part of it that the dogs don’t touch. They entwine themselves around it all—the serious matters and trivial, the fun and the less so. As you have read, they are there for the exciting adventures but also for the mundane. They are with you for”
― Andrew Cotter, Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs

“Mabel’s Dream.”
― Andrew Cotter, Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs