I Need a Better Dog

I Need a Better Dog

Dogs are as much a part of the American family, as baseball and apple pie, are to the ideal of being American. Movies have immortalized them, songs have been written and sung about them, and statues have been erected in their honor. Some are working dogs, herding sheep or cattle, on farms; some work in search and rescue saving lives, or locating the bodies of those lost in disasters. Still others protect our borders and streets by detecting drugs and other contraband, that would other wise go undetected, were it not for the dog. Dogs work as guides for the blind and the deaf; and recently given to people with epilepsy, because research has shown dogs can sense a seizure several minute prior. Affording the epileptic an opportunity to prepare for a seizure that without warning could be a great deal more dangerous. Dogs serve us in so many ways beyond their training. They are wonderful companions for the young or sick or elderly, they protect our families and homes, and they amuse and entertain us with their antics. A dog is more than it's size and breed, a dog is the characteristics of it's breed and the environment of its life, but more importantly, it is a reflection of its owner's heart.

People love puppies. Puppies are soft and cute and provide us with hours of entertainment; they are clumsy and tenacious in their enthusiasm, and their curiosity is endearing. All is well for a little while until life gets in the way, and the puppy is not house broken and chews on everything that doesn’t chew on them first; and then there is the fact that it won’t listen, and does what it wants, rather than what you tell it to do. The kids love the puppy but are less inclined to clean up after it, and forget to feed it with some regularity, which they promised they would do if only you would buy them this puppy…..They would never ask for anything else either they just had to have this puppy.

Six months have gone by and you look out the kitchen window, in the back yard there is the doghouse you bought, as well as a five-gallon bucket for water and a food bowl that is currently upside down in the mud; absently you remember that it rained last night. About then you see the puppy come out of its doghouse and you cringe, he is no longer the plump round ball of paws and fur. He is much larger now and what a mess; he is covered in mud and looking like a junk yard dog, he shakes and stretches and walk to the end of his 10 foot chain, and plops down looking at the house almost expectantly. You can’t remember the last time you allowed in the house, and for the life of you can’t remember the name the kids finally settled on for him, you just call him dog; usually it’s “Has anyone feed the dog today?” Of course had the dog been better behaved you might have allowed him to stay in the house occasionally.

Next door, your neighbor has one of the puppies from the same litter, the difference between the two is almost unbelievable; in fact, he is why you bought your puppy. When the children saw the neighbor with his, they just had to have one too! His dog is so much better behaved, he doesn’t jump up on people, is house broken, stays in the house without tearing it apart, and he actually listens when he’s given a command, why he even does tricks. Thinking about it, he must have simply gotten a better dog; because they are practically inseparable, he always in the back yard playing with his dog, or taking him to the park. Sometimes you’ve even seen people visit with their dogs. It is amazing to you that two dogs from the same litter could be so different; it has to be the dog, because your children play with the dog all the time and he’s fed every day, you see to that. What more could a dog need?

Thinking about it you realize just how much money you have already spent on this dog; between the cost of buying him, the vet bills, the doghouse, and the chain you’ve had to replace too many times to count, and the cost of getting him out of the pound because he’s gotten loose. All the things you’ve had to replace like the carpet in the basement he ruined before you wised up and put him outside, not to mention the shoes and books and other assorted items the puppy destroyed. Even the yard is suffering the effects of this dog. Before you chained him up to the doghouse, he dug holes all over the yard and killed most of your border plantings. None of the kids’ toys that littered the yard were safe from his gnawing; so chaining him had been a last resort. The path of the chain and his running the length of that chain has killed all the grass in the area where he’s tethered. The dog is just too stupid to realize how good he has it. So you make up your mind to take the I.D. tags off his collar and the next time he pulls one his amazing escapes, he will just be another stray at the pound and you won’t have to claim him. Next time you’ll get a better dog. Then life will finally get back to normal.

Two weeks later a dog is brought in to a vet;s office, it was hit by a car. The injuries are not serious, but the dog has no identification so he is scheduled to go to the pound after a couple of days of observation, he has a sweet disposition and once cleaned up is a handsome specimen. So the vet makes a few calls, knowing that if he doesn’t find a home soon he will be put to sleep shortly after he leaves for the pound; they simply don’t have the funds to care for animals long term. Finally, she located a client who recently lost their dog to cancer, asking them to come in and consider adopting this wonderful dog.

Three months later the dog is settled into his new home and has a new name “Buster”, has been given a second chance with a loving family. The adjustment was brief and the love bountiful. You see this family has a child with a disability; Buster has been a wonderful friend and companion for the child and was eager to learn. The miracle of patience and a little training gave a dog a wonderful family and the opportunity to give back to his owners, all any dog has to give…. his whole heart. He is house broken and only chews on the toys that are his; he doesn’t jump up on people and he sleeps on the floor at the foot of his new best friend, he comes when he’s called and has learned several new tricks. Busters’ family knew that he could only be as good as he knew how to be, he was in need of a purpose beyond just being an occasional playmate and troublesome nuisance for a placating parent.

Dogs like people need more than shelter, food and water, they need stimulation, they need to be loved and accepted with all the strange quirks that are specific to dogs. So be good to your dog, treat them with love and respect, for they are a reflection of your heart, and the conscience by which others may see you.