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A Dog is Like a Four Legged Person

  • Thread starter Thread starter Beryl M
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Beryl M

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A Dog is Like a Four Legged Person

Your pet faces the same up and downs as you do no wonder we get along so well

A cat is cat a dog is a dog but my pet is a person.  For many people the person they are closes to is their pet. That is because they find it easier to give attention to their animals rather to other members of their family.  But why not - dogs have the same qualities and emotions as humans do. They are capable of love jealousy vanity grief modesty and loyalty.  They live up and down to what their owners expect of them.  As members of the family they learn vocabularies and establish set routines.  For example the dog runs to the door the minute she hears the garage door open.  She knows when it is time for the owner to come home from work. 

The strong love offered by mans best friend is well known if you own a dog.   Throughout history they have saved many lives with thinking the risk to themselves.

Another characteristic shown by dogs is jealousy.  When a new baby or even a new pet is brought home, often the older pet will show resentment. Favourite slippers might get chewed or your clean pet might show displeasure messing up the carpet or use other destructive methods to turn attention from the intruder back to himself

Vanity is a human and canine trait obviously to anyone attending a dog show the experience shows dogs love the attention and applause and love the luxury of being petted and fussed over. Even a house pet enjoy the spotlight why else would a dog return a ball time and time again.

From the biggest champion to the ordinary mutt dogs love to be admired for their beauty and cleverness.  And like man they are capable of modesty. A show poodle that for the first time is sheared down to its bear skin shows symptoms of modesty.

Loyalty and grief are two qualities where dog is like man.  The story of Greyfriars Bobby is a good example.  Bobby was a little terrier to a Scottish farmed named Gray.  On market day Gray and Bobby would travel to Edinburgh and according to routine would visit a small pub near Grey Friars Cemetery at noon for lunch which Gray would share with his little dog.   The pair were inseparable till Grays death in 1959 when he was buried in Greyfriars Cemetery.

Bobby hung around the city gates till a sympathetic ground keeper let him in to lie on his masters grave.  Soldiers at Edinburgh Castle Gate trained him to go for a meal every day when they fired the one o clock gun, so Bobby would get up and trot down to the pub where the owner would feed him and he returned to his masters grave.

For the rest of his life his habits remained the same.  And as dogs were not allowed to run the streets without a collar and license the Mayor presented Bobby with a collar and tag to guarantee the terrier will never be taken when guarding his masters grave.

When Bobby died after 1O years of grief and loyalty a statue was erected to his memory a Tribute to the Affectionate Fidelity of Greyfriars Bobby
 
Beryl, I know what you're saying. Soon I'll post my memories of life with our beloved dog Ming who we lost last year. You will see many examples of what you have set out. I haven't been able to finish my memoirs of Ming without crying yet. But soon ...
 
Kate, Beryl,
Did you get a new dog? When our dog Monty died we were devastated and swore never to have another The loss was too much to take. But we missed having the greatings when arriving home and the companionship even though there is a lot of work involved in owning a dog. After a year we got Rupert 1. and as I type this he is below the desk playing with my bare feet. Oh..oh..ahhh. Oh and Jappy Japtor our ragdoll cat is looking down from the bookshelves above the desk. I guess the mornings rampage around the house is over. Peace has broken out.
Regards.
 
Rupert - we have another little dog - Lizzie - who is now about 13 yo herself so we have the ordeal of losing her ahead of us. After that I don't think we'll get another doggie - we're getting older ourselves and it's not fair to get a pup if we can't be there for the long haul. But we will certainly miss having a fourlegged friend around.
 
Kate, I perfectly understand what you say. The way we looked at our loss was that our dog had lived out his lifespan (14yrs) in the company of those who looked after him and gave him a good life. He was happy and we were happy for him. It was a thing to celebrate for us because he could have belonged to people who misstreated him so he won out big time and so did we.
Regards
 
Rupert thank you for that - it makes such a lot of sense to me now, but it has taken nearly 12 months for me to see that. I miss him so much - but couldn't ask for him back as he was in his last years. I would love to have him back as the vibrant young dog he was and so much a part of our family. I wish we could have cloned him - but do I? He was unique and no clone would ever replace him. I will post my story "Life with Ming" when I can do it without crying over my computer :)
 
Kate, I have a thought for you. Maybe you could adopt a mature animal from the SPCA. There are always animals who need homes and you would be doing them a favour too. However you may be looking forward to the freedom from commitment at this stage.
 
I am advised that the police in Birmingham are looking for "Puppy walkers"  Persons applying need not be connected to the force.  Will be required to get the puppies used to people be it in the street, park or on the buses.
The puppies will live in your home and whilst you will not be paid to look after them all their food and needs including any Vet fees will be paid for.  Carers and homes will be visited to see if they are suitable.
Could be a way of easing a loss without the long term commitment.

Since posting the above earlier I have learned that the the volunteers would be ideally at home for most of the day and willing to participate in envenvironmental training etc. as above. Every puppy walker must be able to attend Balsall Common Dog Training Centre the last Sunday in every month to enable the puppy to have a health check
More details from a Victoria Poultney at Balsall Common 7933 74222.
Will.
 
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