back, over far too many decades, I remember them all….Heidi and Fritz, the two small German Schnauzers my Mom used to breed. Fritz, whom I haven’t thought of for some time, deserves a mention. He was a dog with a loving and trusting heart…always ready to romp and play, taking genuine pleasure in human company. I was running across the street on a Sunday morning just as the Catholic Church let out. Fritz followed me, not looking and really, not used to the street… He was run down by a car. He managed to crawl to me and died with his head in my hands. I cried then as I do now, remembering him.
One day in my 12th year, Stormy came into my life. He belonged to the guy who owned the tavern on the highway. For some inexplicable reason, Stormy decided that he would be my dog. He adopted me, this was his decision, I didn’t encourage it. Stormy, a Collie and German Sheppard cross, was large, handsome and strong. His owner lived a few blocks away. Stormy followed me everywhere. He would wait all day outside school and walk me home. He was waiting for me every morning. His owner finally told me to keep him.
At the time, my Mom’s brother, Arty, lived with us when he wasn’t working as a merchant mariner, which kept him away for months at a time. Stormy, for whatever reason, didn’t take to him and one day, lifting his leg, peed on Arty’s coat hanging on the back of a chair. After this, Arty hung his jackets in the closet and stayed away from the dog.
Stormy slept outside my bedroom door, guarding me throughout the night. His happiness at seeing me was a real joy. Yes, dogs can smile! We would run like deer around the town. One early spring day, I jumped a low metal fence with a row of spikes… Stormy didn’t make it. The sidewalk was slippery with rain and he was badly hurt. My Dad took him to the vet, and he was not saved. I missed him terribly and still do. He wasn’t old and should have been with me for many more happy years…
Unless you go for a parrot or a Galapagos tortoise, which can bury you and your grandchildren in a box in the back yard, our animal friends have shorter lives than do we. They age faster so we have to value every minute they are with us. Losing a much-loved pet hurts, almost the same as the loss of a family member or close friend. In Vietnam, I adopted a stray puppy, teaching him a few tricks. The maids had never seen anyone interact with a dog and had no idea that dogs could learn. Vietnamese eat dogs, and almost anything else. He knew his name and was a clever little brown and tan shorthaired dog. I was gone up country for two weeks and returned to learn that he had died. It may have been of some sickness, that was never clear… I missed him, and over those years never took in another. Maybe, the maids ate him! You think?
From our pets, we can learn a thing or two about loyalty and the simple pleasures of play. A good dog loves unconditionally and this, in itself, is a valuable lesson. No matter how you feel or what tragedy has clouded your day, your dog will sense this and try to comfort. Living with us, they know and are sensitive to our moods. This interaction is a two way street as we too become observant and cognizant of their ups and downs. On November 11th of 2012, I had to put my old dog down. His hind legs finally gave out completely. We carried him to the car in a blanket. Iram was eleven and had been trained as an EOD (explosive ordnance detection) dog. These remarkable guys find bombs. The good news is that he never found any.
At the time, we had a two-year-old Sheppard living with us. The two dogs were friends and had established their pecking order, with the older and larger guy as the boss. When we carried him out that last day the young dog knew somehow that Iram wasn’t coming home. Anyway, he looked for him throughout the house and lay in front of the fire place looking at me…”where is my pal” was clearly being translated. Even today, months later, when Guardie hears Iram’s name or smells his collar, he looks around and remembers. So, don’t think that dogs don’t have memories and feelings just as we do- and miss their friends, just as we do.
It has been said that the domestic dog was once a wolf, or perhaps another member of the canine family, who approached ancient humans where someone tossed or left a few bones. Over time, perhaps our ancestors understood that the animal would bark, alerting to an intruder. Maybe the relationship between man and dog started in this way. Gradually, this bond of trust and dependence became stronger. The man fed the dog and the dog guarded the man. Over many centuries, this special bond has become remarkably strong; one can argue that this relationship can be described as “love.”
What then are the lessons many of us have gathered as relating to this alien relationship? Certainly, one must be that humans and canines can and do form strong bonds. Can we then posit that, if ever we should meet other aliens, such as the proverbial “little green man,” they too may find a friendly reception? Can it be that our pets can teach us to not be hostile to those different from ourselves? Certainly, dog and cats, covered with fur, having four legs and a tail with great teeth, are indeed very different from us! Yes, I would hope that this would be the case. What do your say? If you met a lovely little green man tonight, would you automatically run or shoot or, might you give him a chance?
Man shares this earth with a grand plethora of critters, from tiny bacteria, insects, birds, snakes, fish, great whales and elephants, tigers and lions. The entire natural world is inhabited with millions of curious and wondrous species, all very different from us. It is us however, who have domination over them all. It is our responsibility then to insure that all survive and all are allowed to enjoy life. Of course, conflicts arise over land and water between man and animal. This is the inevitable consequence of the fecundity of the human population. Our growing numbers threaten the habitat of many animals and indeed, many have grown extinct entirely due to the expanding human population. Such losses are tragic and irreparable. We must never allow our ignorance and downright stupidity to ever again erase an entire species.
There is a valuable lesson here and it is very clear. Man must preserve the creatures with whom we share this earth and we had better be smart enough to do so before it’s too late- for all of us! We stopped killing whales, almost. Only the determined little yellow japs continue to enjoy this ghastly and bloody pastime, hunting and killing these great creatures for cat food. Also, some Icelanders engage in fishing for whales but thankfully, they have substantially curtailed this terrible activity. I think also some Inuit people, (Eskimos) kill a few whales under what they call a traditional tribal right or some such foolishness. Mostly, these guys eat hamburgers and drink beer at their local pub. In a generation or so, perhaps they will loose the taste for blubber… maybe sooner! It really does taste terrible!
In the 1800 and early 1900’s, after almost wiping the whale into absolute extinction, many western people got together and passed fishing laws prohibiting such practice. What made us change? For one thing, the commercial logic, the need for whale oil and other products from the dead animals, came to an end. Also, many more advanced and understanding humans spoke up, demanding the cessation of such barbarism. Governments complied and the slaughter of these magnificent creatures has been almost stopped.
As we murdered the whales, we also did the same to the Buffalo. Ignorant dumb-headed jackasses with two legs and a rifle shot thousands of these poor critters simply for sport leaving their bodies to rot where they fell. The many wounded living on in needless pain. The American Indians also killed the Buffalo but they were very different from the idiots shooting from passing trains. The native people revered the animals, co-existing with them, killing only as needed for food and the hides, wasting little.
Animal husbandry, the business of raising animals and other species for food is certainly justified and I am by no means advocating for the vegans who, I think, are basically, over-empathetic and overly emotional idiots. The key thing in this is to treat the animal humanely, caring for its needs in a professional and learned manner. We humans are an omnivorous species, consuming both plant and animal flesh. We share this characteristic with many others such as, pigs, rats, mice, ostrich, some bears and most monkeys. This ability has given those possessing it a far better chance at survival than purely the herbivorous or carnivorous. Having said that,
