With more than 80 million pets in France, “petparents” are becoming more and more numerous. Veterinarian Hélène Gateau is one of them, but has also chosen not to have children. In 2019, she adopted Colonel, a Border Terrier, and created a close relationship with him, close to that of a mother and her baby. She testifies to this attachment in her new book Why I chose to have a dog (and not a child) to be published by Éditions Albin Michel on September 13.
“Colonel, he is a partner, a friend and a confidant. I’m not going to say he’s the lover I don’t have but he has a very important place in my life. ” Here’s how Helen Gateau candidly describes his relationship with his four-and-a-half-year-old Border Terrier. The veterinarian explores in her book her attachment to her Colonel based on sociological or scientific studies. Challenging classic family patterns and the sometimes porous boundary between the world of animals and that of men.
Watch Hélène Gateau’s interview in full in the video at the top of this article.