Most of my of the dogs have owned have been what are known as rescue dogs and on one occasion, in providing a loving home for an unwanted pooch, I acquired a reincarnation of Harry Houdini. All attempts to thwart her bids for freedom were in vain and my purpose built dog run ended up looking like Auschwitz. Not to be deterred by the 6ft fence driven into the ground by stakes and the brick wall, she burrowed a hole by the wire, crawled commando style under it, scaled the neighbors' adjoining coal bunker, and made her escape through their garden. I discovered all this when, after a short series of successful escape attempts I couldn't figure out how she was getting out, so we set up an observation unit. Following the escape, I set out on my one person search party to track down my now AWOL companion, passing a lollypop man en route. After an hour, the search was called off in order to return to base for telephone check and lo and behold, the deserter had been captured! I raced out to collect my prisoner and marched her homeward in doggy style handcuffs, otherwise known as a lead, and I happened to pass the lollypop man again. His eyes narrowed on seeing me and when I got close enough, he glared at me and barked, "I saw that dog half an hour ago!" And his point was? I could have replied in terms of asking me if I was looking for a dog when he first encountered me, (the lead in my hand and frantic look on my face may have been a give away), and giving me an indication of which direction my pooch was last seen headed, may perhaps be more constructive than admonishing me for whatever misdemeanor that he in his infinite wisdom of the circumstances believed I had committed, but I satisfied myself by treating him with the same distain and returning the glare. On another occasion the particular dog in question was picked up by the dog warden and cost me a £20 fine. It wasn't so much paying the fine I objected to, I was glad to have her returned safe and sound, it was the fact I was fined for allowing my dog to stray! ALLOWED!
You see, being a dog owner is a bit like being a parent. If a child misbehaves or gets into trouble, society points the finger of guilt at the parent for not looking after them, or bringing them up properly. It's the same for the dog owner. They will deemed to have failed in some way for the pet's undesirable traits or behavior, despite the fact that they may be a responsible dog owner who, just like a responsible parent, is doing their best under circumstances their accusers may be blissfully aware of. For instance, the selectively deaf dog, that's the one's which can hear a crumb drop in a restaurant on the other side of the town but can't hear you shouting come back and yes, I've had one of those as well, a border collie cross who suffered from selective deafness coupled with a passion for chasing birds. I often watched the white tip on her tail disappear into the horizon while screaming her name at 100 decibels. Sometimes I could swear she was waving to me however her third toe seemed to be considerably longer than the others as she held up her paw. Distraction with a Frisbee worked very well for a long time but sadly for probably the most affectionate but free spirited four legged family member I ever had, her passion for bird chasing and selective deafness led to her downfall. She took off in her usual unstoppable mode, came to a main road, and my desperate pleas for her to stop were in vain. I've often wondered if there's a doggy heaven as it seems almost unfair of the Almighty to allow humans who have caused an infinite amount of pain in their lives the opportunity to go there yet an animal, who is faithful and gives nothing but love and affection to all those it comes into contact with, may be denied that possibility. Maybe it's because Bess was cut down in the prime of her life that years later, I still feel a deep sadness when I think of her. Bess and I had a lot of fun together, and she was loved because she was a tear away not in spite of it. If there is a doggy heaven, I hope she tells everyone what good owners she had and how much she enjoyed being with them as we did her. That's the trouble with having pets. You have to accept that someday they won't be around anymore and for Bess, that day came too soon.
So why do we do it? Why so we spend a fortune on our beloved animals, put up with all their faults and no matter what they put us through, we wouldn't be without them, knowing that someday we will be? To the doggy lovers of society I'm preaching to the converted. To the doggy haters I would say, cut us a bit more slack. We're not bad people because we own dogs. Is planet earth not big enough for all of us to share and do not the majority of dog owners try to be responsible and care for them properly? It's very often said that animals are looked after better than people in this country. Why is that? Maybe it's for the reasons I mentioned above. Animals are a lot easier to figure out than people and they're a lot less complicated. Their friendship and affection is not propagated by a hidden agenda towards only those who can be advantageous to them in some way. That makes them more loyal, dependable and trustworthy. They're easier to live with and they don't want much from you. A walk, dinner, a pat on the head and a warm bed. Can it be compared to human companionship? That depends on either your viewpoint; or perhaps, your experience of human companionship. Going back to the doggy heaven idea, if man was the only creation made in the image of God, how come God-like qualities that we all seem to desire, are easier found in the animal kingdom? I'll leave you with that thought.
