I'm a dog person. I have spent all but six to eight nonconsecutive months of my life with a dog somewhere in it. Movies with dogs, about dogs, or in which dogs are even mentioned have an 89% chance of making me weep like a child.
Dogs have come a long way beside us through our shared history, and not always for the better. Purebreds come with an unholy host of inherited health issues. New crossbreeds are introduced to reinvigorate the gene pool. I recently rediscovered that the lineage for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel can be traced back to six dogs.
Six. For the ENTIRE BREED.
Despite this, a dog's genome is still only barely distinct from that of a wolf. They share the same keen senses, the same urge to form packs, and the same need for food, shelter, and safety that, when you get right down to it, we all share. I like to think that every dog remembers, in some small way, they are also a wolf. I like to think that under the thousands of years of human interference, of Insta-worthy costumes and breed standards, there are some things dogs just know.
I came up with this spread during a meditation series on Norse goddesses. The inspiration came during our discussion of Vör, the Norse goddess of divination, mysteries, and intuition. Her brand of magic, her practice, is not always a pretty one. It was not uncommon for her devotees to find their answers in animal or even human entrails. But you'll find truth in it, if you are brave enough. There are things we know, without knowing how. There are things we remember, without knowing why. They sit in a cauldron inside us, growling like wolves.
Sources
"Origin of the Domestic Dog" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_domestic_dog
"Are Dogs Really 99.9% Wolf?" https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dogs-99-percent-wolf/
(Spoiler: yes. Yes they are)
"Cavalier King Charles Spaniel" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalier_King_Charles_Spaniel
(specifically the section about Health)
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