D is for “Dog”
Man’s Best Friend
By Phyllis Knox
This blog is part of a very special series created and written by Phyllis Knox, “Alphabetic Musings”, whereby she chooses a word starting with a particular letter from the alphabet and injects it with her storytelling magic.
It is believed that our modern-day canine friends are descendants of the wolf and the fox. One can easily see the resemblance with the German Shepard, for example, but the Chiwawa…not so much, EH? This evolution would have taken thousands of years as the more timid dogs would have approached people at their encampments. In more modern times, we humans have learned to work with the genetics of these special friends to “improve upon” our buddies’ dispositions and their physical uniqueness and qualities. We tend to choose the breed that most matches our own lifestyles (sometimes, there is a strange and even funny and remarkable resemblance between Man – or Woman – and his or her Dog).
It is quite striking how we become so entwined in mutual “love”. This partnership has aided farmers, hunters, and police officers to do their work more efficiently. Dogs have been chosen for their characteristics and their incredible abilities to run, sniff out drugs, or herd sheep and other grazing animals. The four-legged buddy works hand in hand with the human and each picks up the clues that the other sends out through whistles and actions. Some dogs have been trained to work side by side with law enforcement at airports, and many other venues, to identify the distinct smells of drugs…the dogs simply sit down next to a suspect and then wait patiently for the treat-reward they know awaits them! What a team, EH! The sharing and buddy system has become an art as well as an essential part of teamwork, and a necessity in all our lives.
Nowadays, our pets can weigh as little as 10 lbs. or can weigh in at the 80 to 90-lb range. Their colours vary from white to brown to golden to black to red, with all shades in between. Some of our “friends” have evolved to just sit with us in times of illness or walk with us so as to improve our lives; others want to protect us. One of our dogs (he is a Jack Russell, if you know what I mean, EH!) knows (somehow) that it is noon hour and therefore time for the mail carrier to invade our abode! He sits on the windowsill with his tail between his legs in a hunting pose and sets his eyes to the street. When the moment arrives and Max sees the yellow jacket, all hell is let loose! The mail carrier simply ignores the barking and the snarling as he or she walks up to the mailbox fearlessly, and then turns and walks away. Only then do Max’s signs of anger and threatening sounds cease. The mail carriers continue on their merry way and the canine protector returns to his bed and blanket convinced that he has saved the day! Max is sure that “HE” alone can correct the situation and make the “intruder” go away…but then, just 24 hours later, that bad person returns and it’s “déjà vu” all over again… Other adopted family members are more passive and simply eat, drink, lick our faces, yawn, sleep and play. Their quiet dispositions also play an important role in human-dog friendships. My daughter’s beautiful golden-curly haired, long-legged Poodle Doodle (?) just licks our faces, sleeps, eats some dog food, relaxes, yawns, stretches, lies down on her mattress, drinks some water, goes for a walk with us and begins the whole process again…Don’t they call it, ”a dog’s life,” EH! While Max, the male of the couple, is a guard dog, steadfast and true, (Bella) Luna is more of a …say, a companion, with her quiet & sweet nature.
Back in the 1950’s and 60’s, my family had a special way of choosing the designated type of dog that suited us. It was ALWAYS a female black and white Cocker Spaniel whose name would be Terry. Five or six “Terry’s” came and sadly went through the next 20 or so years. They were all descendants of the same sweet, adorable mother. These dogs – full-fledged family members – joined us in an already-full house and drove and travelled with all the family in that same small Ford car. They needed attention and love and asked for very little else. The three things they could always count on were a can of really ugly-looking food (I still wonder what it consisted of), a fresh bowl of water, and all the table scraps they could stomach (studies had not yet proven that none of those foods help the little girls to be healthy and alert!).
We did the best we could for them. We brushed the dogs’ coats and kissed and hugged them constantly…a win-win situation for all concerned, I would say! They slept on whatever bed they pleased for as many hours as they pleased. We gave our dog friends 3 or 4 baths a year – unless the hunter in them caught a skunk while out on an excursion or expedition in the woods beyond our neighbourhood. By-laws had not yet enforced tying up your dog or fencing it in your yard, so we simply opened the front door when they ordered us to and let them out to prowl through the streets in their “natural” habitat. Our dogs roamed Spémont Street doing whatever wherever, and so did everyone else’s pets. It was never a surprise to see a pack of aimlessly prowling dogs looking for something (never did figure out what they were up to). One or two of our Terry’s did get lost for a few days during those free-reign outings. Of course, our family chose travel conditions to match the needs of our furry friends: wherever we went, they went too. We stayed in small motels that welcomed the canine species and we visited locations where pets were welcome. Nobody thought of leaving the family at a sitter’s or the like….no, no, no! We all piled into our car and suffered together, EH!
We have come a far way, and gone from OWNING our best friends, as we used to say, to now ADOPTING them as we say today. We have come to better understand the link that we have with these wonderful animals; they are our equals and we depend on each other. Our little friends can detect our happiness and our sadness as well as our special needs in times of major health problems. They can lead the blind through busy city streets and comfort the anxious in time of despair. They will protect us from danger, and comfort and love us unconditionally. What more could you ask of a friend? We have come to need each other...what would life be like without this all-important exchange of give & take? WE give food and shelter and lots of love; THEY reciprocate with tender, sweet, indisputable love and loyalty. In today’s world, we take our dogs for walks, but who is really taking who for a walk? As I watch the process, I can only conclude that WE are actually walking through life together!
Below is a picture taken in front of our house on Fortin Street in Three Rivers with our much-loved and PATIENT mother, Alice, holding on to an adorable ´Terry’ (can’t see in picture) while the seven of us Knox kids each held one of her new-born pups…some of us more cautiously than others, EH!
Thanks to you all wherever you are for reading my rendition about a connection like no other: Man (or Woman) & Dog.
Phyllis Knox
