Sunday, March 24, 2013

"Q"

Bumper Sticker Truth 



















Dog and Owner look-alikes   

Be Advised !

If you donot like dogs, this might be a long read .

An article in a regional newspaper today cited a new book written
by the Director of Duke University's 'Canine Cognition Center'.



The Day of 'Rescue
"You gotta know when to hold 'em ..."
   His book is The Genius of Dogs (and no, I have not read the study nor is this an advertisement for the work.)  He cites several distinguishing attributes of canines that those who love 'the critters' will not find surprising, especially their ability to 'infer meaning'.

   Now, lest this post seem to be a glowing tribute to all dogs...some of my closest encounters with fear have been in confrontations with dogs, especially feral ones.  As a former long-distance runner, I appreciated the experience cited in a book title, On the Run from Dogs and People.  And the abundance of pit bulls in our small town gives me cause for concern.

    For many years of my life, I have owned a dog. Perhaps it is the other way around...the study did highlight a dog's ability to 'manipulate' humans.  Dad brought home a handful of fur one day that became "Tootsie".  She lived to be about 16 and met an untimely death at the hands of a 'hit and run driver'.  When my daughter was in kindergarten, her brother gave her a part-collie that became "Knuckles" who lived until my daughter was a college student.  Briefly, we had  "Klunkalunk" who undoubtedly was the dumbest creature I had ever known, though very affectionate and prone to wander.  Next came "Tela", my daughter's Shih-tzu, and "Poodler", a mixed breed 'Pomergeranium'.  And, family and friends have had an array of dogs with all kinds of descriptive names: our daughter's family acquired "Rocky" sometime after the death of the venerable "Hoops".  Our son has "Tattoo" and one of my brothers had "Bartels", who loved chasing a soccer ball.  My other brother has a penchant for naming his dogs with human names, hence, "Sam",  "Lewis", "Hundley", "Ellie", and "Clara"     being among the more memorable.  And, a good friend recently mourned the loss of "Sam", a majestic Golden. Our D-2 (second daughter, though not biological) spent some time in the Czech Republic years ago and named her Boxer "Lasko", which I think is Czech for "Sweetie" ( Anyway, it is a name of endearment.)

    Now, there is "Q", a Shih-tzu , so named  because we 'rescued' him one day when he was sauntering through the drive-through window of a local bank.  (Now, six years later, that is a favorite destination for him.  The tellers know his story and always have a 'treat'...part of his extensive vocabulary. ) His 'word recognition', I believe, matches that of some children.  In a word, he is 'smart', causing us often to speak in code. And it seems that he often knows when we are departing the house before a word has been spoken to that effect. He has a 'girl friend', "Lilly", a spayed member of the canine menagerie where we board him when going out of town.  Her owner tells us how they romp through the house together at approximately the same time every day.  And when we pick him up after our being away several days, he wants nothing more than a day's sleep to recover from the exhaustion.

      The day we found him, he was a mess. ( See picture above. ) Friends later told us that they had seen him wandering the streets for some time.  Lacking identification, not only was he not 'house broken' (but he learned quickly), he was missing teeth, had a heart murmur (due to malnutrition; since corrected), and was greatly in need of a haircut, shave in some parts, actually.  Nor had he been neutered.  Even today, there are vestiges of his time 'on the streets'. Often, after eating, he will push his food bowl around with his nose in an apparent effort to hide it.  Sudden noises frighten him and sometimes it seems that he inhales rather than chews his treats, as if food is scarce as in 'the old days.'  

   While we were engaged , my wife told me of her strong  preference for  'no indoor pets', largely because of the antique furnishings in the house.  Q won  'paws down'.  I once told our son that Q was 'cheap entertainment' and then corrected that to simply 'entertainment.'  Did you know that in addition to regular Vet GP's  there is a Canine Ophthalmologist?  We learned that tidbit when a Shih-tzu genetic problem necessitated surgery.  He is of such a kind and sweet disposition that even his Vet looks forward to his check-ups.

     Now, I know...most dog lovers think that theirs is the smartest, most companionable, etc. Talking and writing about one's dog has been know to cause otherwise reasonably intelligent persons to seem slightly befuddled.  And much has been written about how pet ownership can aid in reducing stress. lower blood pressure and offer other health benefits.  And, many persons have pointed out that "Dog" is "God" spelled backwards.  Perhaps you have seen the slogan : "May I be as good a person as my dog believes that I am."

     Have you hugged your dog today?

         Satchel

   


     

2 comments:

  1. I think I will...there is something to be said for the way my kids hug those 100 pound creatures, getting lost in all that golden fur. It's got to be good!

    ~RisingSong

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  2. To say I love dogs is a total understatement and I firmly believe that anyone who loves dogs is a good person - Satch, I have great respect for you and it has now gone up at least 100 points more! :-)

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