Yes, it's sadly not hard to imagine how a child might be scarred by their parent committing suicide. But I also feel like that's one of the best things about being a parent: the added responsibility, the added gravitas, can bring out the best in us, since to be there for someone else, we have to be the best version of ourselves as well. But I'm not a parent; you'll have to tell me whether that's a fair way of looking at it or whether I'm speaking pure nonsense.

But dogs? I have a labrador, and before him a golden retriever, and they are so pure, so innocent, so full of life and joy. Whenever I leave the house for even an hour, I hear from my mother how he just lies in front of the door, morose, and runs to the balcony at the slightest noise to see if I've returned. When it comes to my dog, I can state with 100% certainty that I would never, ever leave him, because he would suffer, and I can't bear to think of him in pain. In fact I'm going to go pet him right now.