When I heard recently that someone had named her dogs after well-remembered people in Westmeath from years past, I wondered if the dog’s faces reminded her of those folks or was it the personalities? Generally, dogs are named on a whim which I guess these were. If one has a name before it moves in, the name should be kept otherwise it will bring tons of bad luck.
Dogs really like humans! According to a recent study, “Not only do dogs seem to love us, they actually see us as their family. It turns out that dogs rely on humans more than they do than other dogs for affection, protection and everything in between.”
When I was a kid there was a dog up the street I was terrified of. It was the fault of his master though, a bully even before the word became so prevalent these days. He would send it after me each time I tried to walk by his house. Shep, a mangy black and white medium size dog would bark and snarl, in other words scare the life out of me and so I took a different route. This went on for two years until Shep either died or ran away from home from mistreatment.
The big dogs were then my nemesis for years, eyeing me as if sizing me up for lunch. That is until in my twenties. I was dropping off some information to a farmhouse somewhere this side of Beachburg. Once out of the car I realized that the fiercest looking dog imaginable was loping toward me with a low deep throat growl and threatening eyes that had me right in his target. Too far away to lunge for the car, I did the one thing I had heard repeatedly for this type of encounter. “Don’t panic.” I crossed my arms – slowly, held my breath and stood rock still. The dog sniffed around almost forever and then he relaxed too. I walked slowly to the house, the dog by my side. It was a good lesson for me as it did overcome my fear. I learned to enjoy the bigger dogs as much as the small ones after that.
Not all dogs are angels though. Thousands and thousands of Canadians are bitten by dogs every year, a few resulting in death. There was one dog I would never have made a move toward for a million bucks. This brother-in-law I visited often in Toronto had a Doberman. Every visit to his house dictated no sudden movements and only low-key conversations. Ironically, his four-year-old daughter played rough with that dog, pulling his ears and pinching his nose but never got flak back from the dog. I was worried about her none-the-less. Suddenly one day the dog did snap at the little girl. My friend so concerned, had the dog put down the next morning. Speaking of Dobermans, there is a miniature one in the same area. It struck me so comical when I saw it, much more than a caricature. I always picture myself with amusement, walking up to it and saying, “I’m not afraid of you, you little bit__.”
Dogs offer wholehearted love and affection that bring physical and mental health benefits to people by diverting their attention from their problems. The Heart Association has associated dog ownership with a lower risk of heart disease and so longer life. Studies also reveal that the owners have a lower chance of suffering from depression.
A niece of mine raised three kids with two chocolate brown Labradors. You would wonder at times if there were three kids or five. True to form, the Labs had a reputation as a very even-tempered breed and an excellent family dog and a good reputation with children of all ages. There was never a problem. I also had a nephew who grew up with one. When it died of old age, he seemed to give up also, so pronounced was his grief. It took a new Lab pup to restore his heath and zest for life once more.
I too lost four dogs under dire circumstances. Two were victims of cars when they strayed. Back in the Valley I inherited two dogs. One a Jack Russell and the other a Shih Szu. Both died in the same year of internal illnesses. It was heart-wrenching to know when the day came for their last visit to the veterinarian.
My experiences with dogs had brought me fear for a while, grief at times, and admiration of them for spreading love like they do. At the moment I have cats but am contemplating adding a puppy to the mix.
