ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the eventual need to replace a warm-blooded, significant companion, whose work capability becomes inefficient or unreliable because of age or ill health. Anticipatory grief for a broken bond and fear of life disruption may weigh heavily on the human partner, cognisant of the alerting dog’s ability to smooth and shape unsettled human lives within a symbiotic ethics of care. However, a replacement dog may change the shape of the hole or gap left by the predecessor and make it their own, so instead of being an unwanted usurper, the new assistant continues the route to becoming a ‘two in one’ and to creating mutual empowerment – but by a different and equally acceptable path. Rosa Braidotti’s ‘rich new alliances’ among multispecies beings are seen to enable significantly bettered lives and bonded fellowships, shaping and achieving ‘matterings’ embodied in chronic illness.
