The Motherhood Decision

Abstract: An unexpected encounter between two dogs resulted in four gorgeous puppies and plunged me, owner of the bitch, into a deep reflection about the decision to become a mother. This text aims to be funny yet deep, honest and thought-provoking. It moves from the dog to the dog owner, questioning whether the act of becoming a mother resulted from a formal decision and how the choice to become a mother has changed throughout my generation (X) and the following one.

“Put your dog on the leash, my dog’s in heat!” I nervously asked the man.

I had been walking along the river Rhone with Cali for roughly an hour, we were returning home. Reluctantly, I had been holding her on a leash all throughout our walk. She, a free-spirited golden retriever, hated the restriction as much as I did. Despite the precaution, I was not able to stop the events that followed. The man’s dog darted like an arrow; he was on her before I could protect my adorable bitch.

The man, his daughter, Tiffany, I would learn, and I stood next to our copulating dogs, making small talk for what felt like an eternity. He had just arrived from Rome with his dog Flanders, also a golden retriever, to visit his daughter, a young architect living in Geneva. All three of them were gorgeous, tall, fair skin and fur, light eyes with an aristocratic air. He had let the dog out of the car after the…