‘To sit with him, to feel the softness of his fur’: what makes me happy now

Ashley Hay and her dog. ‘At 35kg, as one friend has observed, he’s the size of a small horse. He believes himself to be very small.’ Photograph: David Kelly/Photograph David Kelly/The Guardian

When I finished up in a busy job in the middle of 2022, not many people asked why. Instead, they asked what I would do next, suggested jobs they thought I could apply for, or jobs I might have already secured – vast and exciting-sounding things, for sure. Well, no, I said. My plan was to sit in the garden and pat the dog for a while.

I don’t think I’ve ever delivered news that more people responded to with smiles, sighs and envy.