Bizarre: Meet Kelly Rose, The Woman Who Claims she Loves her Dog More than her Son!

(Posted by Dominic Reed-New York)

Kelly Rose adores her four-year-old West Highland White terrier, Matilda

She admits she sometimes loves her more than her son.

William Son is growing up and becoming independent

but Matilda will always need her and is always affection.

With her big brown eyes and constant need for cuddles and kisses, Matilda makes every maternal fibre of my being swell. Every time I look at her – or even a picture of her – my heart fills with immeasurable love and the desire to hold her close, bury my face in hers, protect and cosset her – the normal, all-encompassing feelings of intense love and responsibility that a mother has towards her child. More after the cut..

But Matilda is not my daughter. She is my four-year-old West Highland White terrier, and I freely admit that I love her as much as I love my 11-year-old son, William. In fact, on some occasions I love her more than him. And I don’t feel a bit guilty about admitting that.

My son spreads mess around the house. He has to be chided and reminded to do his homework and put away his clothes, or told off for answering back, while my dear, sweet-natured Matilda is always obedient, even-tempered and brimming with affection.

Mother’s best friend: Kelly Rose admits that her dog Matilda is often higher in her affection than her son

Everything I do for Matilda results in love and gratitude. Every plate of food is gulped down amid much tail-wagging and excitement; the mere mention of a walk produces yaps of joy and wet doggy kisses.

By contrast, no matter how many meals I dream up for William, how many of his clothes I launder or how many times I take him swimming or to after-school clubs, I barely get a word of recognition or thanks.

Before you pick up the phone to the NSPCC, you should know that I’m not alone in how I feel. A recent study revealed that dogs trigger the same parental instincts in adults as their children do. Dog-owning mums reacted with the same feelings of love and compassion to images of their pet as they did to those of their children.

It comes as no surprise to me that in one part of the study, where the area of the brain that deals with facial recognition was analysed, the women responded more favourably to pictures of their canine companions than to pictures of their offspring.

The enormous sense of responsibility I feel towards Matilda has not changed since the day I brought her home. I chose to take her from her mother, bring her into my home and make her dependent on me for ever.

Unlike with William, I am not preparing her for a bigger journey. Her life begins and ends with me. It’s up to me to make her happy. After all, isn’t that what having a pet is all about? Shouldn’t every responsible owner put their furry companion first?

My role in loving, nurturing and caring for William is to ready him for the world, to make him a responsible adult and less reliant on me. And with each passing day, he is demonstrating that he needs me less and less.

At 11 and a half, the signs of burgeoning independence are there. There is no more hand-holding when we are out, no kisses goodbye if anyone can see.

The little boy who would spend hours snuggled up to me on the sofa sharing a book, or falling asleep with his head in my lap, is long gone. And as a single mother, I have to hand William over to his father every other weekend, so my relationship with him is punctuated by periods when he is away from me. Not so with Matilda, who never leaves my side or suffers from divided loyalties.

She doesn’t complain when I nuzzle my head on her belly, stroke her face lovingly or scoop her into my arms.