How Dog Became Man's Best Friend (A Parable)

[Mantor]

This is how it all started going way back to the stone age...

 

[Houdini]

Can't wait!

As promised: A Tribute to Skippy
Dedicated to Spideyman whose Avatar looks very much like Skippy.
Skippy was a dog pound rescue dog. She was mostly a long haired red dachshund with a mix of small spaniel. My oldest brother Larry picked her out on a Saturday and they quickly bounded. But Skippy was ambitious and she wanted to bound with her entire new family.
One day the paperboy made his usual stop and delivered the evening paper to my father and this event did not go unnoticed by Skippy. Sure enough the next early evening Skippy positioned herself where the paperboy would make his evening delivery. Skippy placed herself between the paperboy and my father. Skippy looked up at the paperboy and he said “What?” My father said “Go ahead and give her the paper”. Skippy took the paper in her mouth and turned and trotted over to my father making the delivery. Skippy had herself a job and assumed that duty from then on.
I’d like to say at this point “that they all lived happily ever after”. But this is real life we’re talking about here. Skippy was allowed to run freely. No fenced yard or chain for her. It was the sorriest day of the young man’s life when he hit Skippy with his car right in front of our house. Skippy didn’t die right away. When Larry picked her up it was obvious she was in terrible pain. Her back must have been broken. Larry was urged to tie her muzzle in case she would snap her jaws because of the pain. He didn’t and all Skippy did was to lick his hands as she peacefully died in the arms of the young man who had rescued her.
So why do we do it? Why do we invest so much love in a pet when we know an early good-bye is inevitable? I guess it’s a balancing act. You balance the love while they’re with you against the desolation of their too soon absence.
CC is our current and probably last dog. He’s a feisty Pomeranian male and he provides the real spice in our lives. He’s 4 years old now and I have to face the possibility I may make it across the finish line before he does. I kid my wife that if CC and I both fell off a cliff and she could only save one of us that I know she’d really miss me.

Houdini in Omaha

 

[Becks19]

When man 1st sinned against God he was kicked out of Paradise and a great chasm separated him from all the other animals as a punishment. Most animals accepted the separation and actually felt safer because man was now to be a hunter of many of them. All but one animal. This animal watched in distress as the chasm grew wider and man receded into the distance. This animal circled anxiously and finally at the last possible moment made a desperate leap across the chasm with just its paws reaching the edge of the precipice. Man reached down and grabbed the paws of Dog and held him. Ever since that day dog has been man’s best friend. Perhaps God had a change of heart at the last moment and helped dog with his leap so man would have at least one devoted animal companion and also perhaps it was no accident that this animal’s name was the name of God spelled backwards.
(Freely adapted from several Indian Tales)

Pehaps you have a good dog story. Why not share it on this thread.

Houdini in Omaha

Beautiful! Thank you.

 

[Houdini]

(Photo of a Toy Fox Terrier but not Peanuts)

MY DOG'S SMARTER THAN YOUR DOG
A Tribute to Peanuts

Peanuts was a Toy Fox Terrier that was purchased as a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law about 2 weeks before Dec 25th. Peanuts was about 6 weeks old and not really even weaned off his mom when we selected him. I could place him in my left hand and completely hide him by placing my right hand over his top. He was tiny but feisty!

We were living in a rented house by the Iowa State Fairgrounds at the time. Peanuts had the run of the house and frequently wanted to play fetch whether you were interrested in playing or not. He could be relentless about getting his own way!

One evening he decided he wanted up on the sofa but he was way too small to make the jump so of course he barked at me to pick him up and put him on the sofa. My response was "If you're so smart you figure out a way to do it by yourself."
So he continued to bark at me in response but I didn't cave-in to him. Finally he circled around the living room to assess his surroundings. He spotted a stack of 3 large pillows placed against the wall. It was like seeing a light bulb go off in his eyes.
He quickly dragged one pillow and place it against the edge of the sofa. Not an easy task because of his small size. He then dragged pillow #2 and placed it on top of pillow #1. He then dragged pillow #3 and place it in front of pillows #'s 1 & 2. He used the pillows as a staircase! In no time, he ascended the pillows and stood barking at me from atop the sofa. I asked my wife "Did you just see that?". She said "It's not polite to leave your mouth hanging open". You have to remember this dog was less than 8 weeks old at the time. It was the most astonishing display of problem solving by an animal I'd ever seen.

Peanuts lived a long happy life retrieving his rubber ball and using my mother-in-law as the designated tosser.

Houini in Omaha