06/11/2025
One of the most challenging things for me given the magnitude of impact that Mouse had on my life trajectory and work, has been to articulate what exactly I learned from Mouse. This is my latest attempt to do just that, as I prepare for a summer "sabbatical" that will include publishing the theory that emerged from what Mouse taught me (that is operationalized in Pooch Peacekeeping). Creating the new and improved Pooch Peacekeeping which will be called Pooch Peacebuilding (details coming soonish), preparing presentations for the IAPCT and Behaviour, Eh, reinvisioning ImPAWsible Possible to better align with everything that has happened and co-authoring a book with Brian Fleming ! While this is exhausting to even think about, I am seriously so excited and also amazed at everything that has unfolded, all thanks to Mouse.
"One of my greatest teachers was Mouse (see photo), my late rescue dog who came to me in 2011 with separation anxiety, reactivity, and aggression (that’s the short list). My goal was to “fix” Mouse with all my scientific tools and protocols, but Mouse had a bigger lesson for me. Mouse taught me to truly see him and the interconnected web connecting both of us.
Mouse showed me that behaviour doesn’t exist in isolation; it is part of an unfolding story between dog, human, and world. I came to understand that my world and Mouse’s were inherently different. As Gomez-Marin & Ghazanfar (2019) say, “all animals share a common world, but not all animals share a world in common.” The inherent tension held in this difference that is present in every relationship can either catalyze growth or become a destructive force.
The most profound lesson I learned from Mouse was about identity. Who we are and who our dogs are is made real in relationship. And within every relationship there is an inherent paradox. The simultaneous desire to assert our independence and to integrate (Gatlin, 1972). Unity comes from the continuous ebb and flow between these opposites (Capra, 2020). This is illuminated in the Zulu greeting Sawubona (“I see you”) and the response Ngikhona (“I am here”). Until we are truly seen, we don’t fully exist. As Cabrera (2021) writes, Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu “A person is a person through other people.” Identity emerges out of relationship.
Mouse passed away in August 2024. His legacy of love lives on in all of my work."
