cuddlesaurus67

It's often said that there are three key essentials for survival: Water, food and shelter. IMO, a fourth essential has been left off the list: Hugging! For me, hugging is as vital as oxygen, laughter and... breakfast (I may have a tendency to preach the gospel of a good breakfast at times, but always with the best of intentions :P)

Of course, what constitutes the perfect hug varies between individuals; for some, a full-on bear hug is needed, while for others, a tentative back pat will do (I will never understand these people - you know, the ones that gingerly give you a back pat like they are burping you for colic when you offer them a warm embrace :/)

If I was to describe my own style of hugging, it would be a combination of the intensity of the Heimlich manoeuvre, the enthusiasm of a child in a sweet shop and the purity of heart of a dog. (While I definitely experience the 'oxytocin high', I promise to keep my post-hug tail-wagging to a minimum. :P)

In fact, to say I love hugging is an understatement. Every occasion is an excuse for hugging or even 'hugging by stealth for health' (when you notice someone feeling lonely and offer them a spontaneous hug and witness their expression change from sadness to surprise to joy in a matter of seconds - what could be better than that?!) Unfortunately, applying the same hugging philosophy to my cat didn't quite go as planned (I've got the scratch marks to prove it), but I live in hope :P