I blog a lot about what makes me angry and what concerns me. I decided I needed to compose a positive entry tonight. Tonight's blog is about animals and humans and why we care for each other.
I grew up in the '50's. It was a time of burgeoning suburbs, of "duck and cover" in school, of segregation and integration and in many ways much simpler times. We grew up going to the movies every weekend, either to the Drive In or in the winter, a theatre. There was always a Disney cartoon and then there were those amazing features - Bambi, Lady and the Tramp. My sister WON a local coloring contest in Tulsa for the Tulsa newspaper and we got free tickets to Bambi - my sister and TEN friends. My mother made her take me as one of the friends. It was fantastic! We all cried when Bambi's mother was killed, we laughed when Thumper and Flower played with Bambi. We knew, however, it was a CARTOON, not real life. We had family that farmed, we had family that hunted. There was never a doubt in our minds that skunks, rabbits, and deer didn't gambol in the forest with raccoons and birds. They didn't play on the ice, either. We loved the movie, we loved the thought, but our lives were based in reality.
Then we saw Lady and the Tramp. For some reason it was harder to see it as a cartoon, I honestly don't know why. We had to have a dog! My parents took us to the local "pound". There was a darling sheltie mix in there. We took Missy home and within four days she had bitten five people. We were quiet, loving and caring. There was clearly a reason Missy was in the pound. We cried when we took her back but we knew we couldn't keep her. She had some serious problems. It was 1956, there weren't dog behviorists on every corner. It was a good life lesson - not everything was like a Disney movie it seemed.
Good friends of ours raised Dachshunds. She had Standard smooths. We had grown up with her prettiest girl, Susie. Susie had a litter about three months after Missy had to go back to the shelter. In that time I'd brought three stray dogs home, a collie and two mixed breeds. The collie's owner claimed her - they'd been on vacation and the person taking care of the dog left the gate open. The other two simply ran away! We walked to Pauline's house everyday to see the pups. We watched them go from little squirmy reddish blobs to toddlers then to adorable puppies. I played with them, I slept with them, helped feed them and finally helped teach them to walk on leashes. It was grand! I was a fairly introverted child. I had worn braces on my legs, had horribly bucked teeth, gotten burned badly at five. I didn't play well with others and I was pretty uncoordinated. I didn't play sports, had difficulty playing games like Red Rover, Tether Ball, Four Square and similar games. Those puppies were amazing. They loved me unconditionally and I loved them.
For the first time in my eight years I knew pure unadulterated joy and love, in real life - not in the movies and not in books. Because of my introversion, I read a lot. By third grade I'd read all the books in my elementary school library. I loved Albert Payson Terhune - Lad a Dog, Walter Farley, Marguerite Henry - Misty of Chincoteague; Brighty, Born to Trot - my heart takes wing remembering those wonderful stories. On Easter sunday 1956, my mother's friend Pauline, brought a puppy to our house. She was wearing a yellow ribbon and of course we named her Lady. Lady was my closest friend for 10 years. We lost her way too young. She was smart, she was pretty, she was my best friend. I cannot imagine what my life would have been like without her.
I have been without a dog several times in my life and I can honestly say those were always years that were filled with pain and with disfunction. I was fortunate to have horses in my life in my teens. I learned early that dogs, cats, horses, hamsters, birds all brought peace and gentleness into life. Those people I knew who didn't have pets were always less alive somehow.
Dogs and cats have been shown in studies to lower blood pressure, to give meaning back to people who have had strokes, lost loved ones, are in hospice (as if we animal owners didn't already know that). But what do we do for the animals? The AR's would have everyone believe that we are cruelly holding our animals hostage, that we have enslaved them, that we have forced them to become domesticated. Of course science has disproved that, but once again fact has never really come into play with AR supporters. New studies have shown that we (humans) probably didn't go out and steal wolf cubs and "tame" them. More than likely there was a group of wolves that "tamed" themselves. Being opportunistic as all canines are, they realized there was edible garbage on the outskirts of human encampments. They also probably learned that if they hung out they got fed. If "taming" a cub worked, wolves would now be easily tamed and the cubs of tamed wolves would be born "tame" - they aren't.
Animals and humans have realized over the millenium that they are mutually beneficial. Cows get fed, hogs get fed, chickens - well they are a different thing altogether. We had chickens once. They wouldn't leave EVER! Dogs find their way home over amazing distances to be with their people. It's the very animal nature of them that enchants me. I don't want little furry people, I want DOGS, I don't want a big furry dog, I want a HORSE! I love their pure joy at being alive - their joy at being in the moment. I like cows because they are COWS. They are not human and it is that simple fact that makes me like animals. I went for a ride on my horse last weekend. He was eager to go out on the trail, as eager as I was. His ears were forward, his tail up, he moved out with little effort. He was having as much fun as I was. He smelled great - horsey, a little dusty. After our ride, I untacked him, brushed him up and put him back into his pasture. He stayed by the fence and whickered when I walked away. I love that "horseness".
We are together mutually. AR's want us to believe otherwise, but we know. As I'm typing this there is one lovely tri colored Corgi laying on my legs, one on the floor next to the couch and another is "wooooing" at Bruce for a pat or two. There are three Sussex Spaniels sleeping in the dog room in the other part of the house. There is fur everywhere. (Corgis shed a lot). There are dog bowls in the kitchen, dog crates in the bedroom, leashes hanging in the mudroom, an old halter hangs next to them. What would our lives be like with no animals in them. In my opinion, bleak, empty and very sad. Mabye that explains why Ingrid Newkirk and her ilk are so miserable. And, yes, that is my opinion!
Ch. Clarkens Castaway - Wilson as a tiny tot.
A wonderful commentary, Kathy. Your experiences are sadly not shared by many kids today. It would be a much nicer world if they were.
Posted by: WFTist | 05/08/2010 at 08:06 AM