Going to the Dogs And Loving It!

What Does A Dog Have To Do With Anything?

I know it’s a little odd for someone to talk to their dog. But consider this, my pup is the exception. Not only is he smarter than half of my in-laws, he could beat the other half at poker with one paw tied behind his back. He’s that smart!

…Even though Bru would probably qualify for a PhD if he could get rid of some of that hair and don a tie, he is still my pup even though he’s grown a bit long in the tooth these days, and shows grey around his beard not entirely unlike his master.

I like to talk to him for a variety of reasons not the least of which is that he can be condescendingly good at listening or for the simple reason that most everyone else here and about seems to be too busy to listen to a curmudgeonly old geezer like myself who thinks that he can single-handedly change the world!..

. Like I say, I like to believe that he is listening to me. But the fact is that Bru is more in charge of his life than most people I know. Nor does he tolerate fools kindly. Mostly, he is inclined to do his own thing which only endears him more to me. I respect anyone who is his own person; and I respect a dog who happens to be of an independent mind.

Sure, like other dogs, and most people, he likes to be fussed over but only on his own terms; and then he’s off doing his dog thing. Yes, he might pretend to listen to me lecture him about this and that and even seem to give me his attention but don’t be fooled into believing that from now on, you’ve won him over. No, after you’ve said your piece, you can be sure that he will still do precisely what he wants. And I respect that, too, especially when you see the light in his eyes and know that he’s got something up his sleeve that can’t wait a moment. Maybe because that’s the way I’ve always been, too, kind of headstrong and stubborn, and I recognize that we are kindred spirits if the truth be known.

This little guy who occupies so much of my life was actually a replacement with a hard act to follow. He was called on to take the place of my Labrador pit bull, India, whom I had saved from the ASPCA. And we took her home and fattened her up and let her have a field day in the back yard chasing anything that came by. Trouble was India was one of those dogs who could never stay out of trouble. . In those days, I spent most of my time on the top of my mountain in a really rural part of New York State that was sparsely populated. It was a great spot if you loved nature. It was chock a block with all of those old Grandma Moses scenes with rolling mountains and steep valleys and Victorian homes scattered here and there and little streams full of fish.

I loved it because it represented a big dose of freedom for me. It was a spot where I could let the animals run free and not worry that they would get hit by a car since my nearest full time neighbor was down at the bottom of the mountain over a mile away. At night, it was darker than any spot in the world. And at night, you could look up and see nothing but stars poking through the dark mantle that was the heavens and simply wonder how you could ever take your eyes away. .. And the nights were quiet, real quiet, with the night sounds being only of frogs in season or insects or an occasional howl from a wolf or other night creature! That was the mountains; not for everyone but surely for someone who wanted to commune with Nature and who wanted to see things with fresh eyes!

Well, India spoiled by our attentions had morphed into a small bull of about 120 lbs and looked ferocious if you didn’t know her inner self. Poor puppy, she was always in trouble; and spent half her time at the Vets lying on a table getting punched and poked but it never seemed to interfere with her good humor until she decided to see how many poisoned toads she could down at one self-declared buffet at my pond…Only she was unable to bounce back from this spree coming down with a kind of fatal cancer that tragically cut short her life.

Anyway, after India left us, I was in mourning for a replacement and my friend in town suggested I check out this Labrador pup up a couple of miles down the road. It turned out that his master got into a head on with a truck on one of the mountain roads where he came out the loser. The pup had been left for dead inasmuch as nobody thought he could pull through with over 200 wounds. But labs are a resourceful lot and with a little tender loving care he was back on his feet feeling pretty spry and taking over the house as if he had lived there all of his short life. That was twelve years ago!

Bru was a whole different story than my daughter’s Doberman, Buster, who was living with me then.. He was independent with a mind all of his own. He wasn’t the kind of dog who walked with you; he would go his own way, and if he felt like it, he might catch up with you on the mountain path. But I learned to respect him for his individuality and we started to get along real well.

The more I learned about Bru, the more impressed I became, and that’s why I always felt that I could talk to him and somehow he would understand. Anyway, before I meander too long on this subject, let me say to those who don’t know dogs, that I would rather vote for my pup than this guy whose sitting in the top job today. My dog never went around inferring one thing and doing the complete opposite. My dog is a survivor who knows how to get along in the society of dogs, and people, for that matter without going to war. He was never dishonest with me; never mislead me. He understands if only intuitively that there has to be a harmony among things that even he has to abide by. And that sometimes you have to just sit and listen to those around you. He understands that many things don’t make sense in this world so that you have to steer a steady course. And he doesn’t go around to push his ‘doggy’ philosophy on the rest of us. For me, that’s enough to earn my vote considering what passes for wisdom today. And maybe that’s enough. Enough that we respect the earth and the people around us… and enough that we can live with our fellow man without trying to appropriate everything that isn’t nailed down. I don’t know. I’m only a curmudgeon that’s grown gray in the beard with a few friends who think the same way as I do and maybe that’s what it takes for change to take place. Who can say? But I sure hope so…

Les aaron