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Dogs
are everywhere. If you look around, you will stare at a wondrous world
filled with them, and if you spend only a few minutes near a busy
street, dogs and their masters will stroll by in a larger number than
you can count.
We
love dogs, or at least most of us do, for they all have something in
common. Some may be strong. Others are intelligent, while a few
breeds share the characteristic of being nervous. But if you are kind,
gentle, and friendly, all dogs, without exception, will be affectionate.
Most
humans will not understand the following fact: even dogs who may be
aggressive have affection. For instance, people say that German
Shepherds are aggressive, cruel, or unpredictable. I have often
encountered people who declared that all German Shepherds were terribly
dangerous. In fact, I feel that I should admit that some - not all! -
German Shepherds are dangerous, but now, see this: they may have been
badly trained, traumatized, mistreated, or have genetic problems.
German Shepherds that are trained to work for the police are taught to
attack, this is true. But will they hurt you? Not unless they have a
good reason to do so.
Here
is the other side of the story. If German Shepherds were aggressive,
dangerous, unpredictable, cruel... if they attacked people, if they
were unreliable... Why would we train them to guide human beings with
no sight? Why would we use them to protect our children? Why would we
teach them to guard our homes? Why would we train them to save us from
criminals? Why would we just keep them?
How
many German Shepherds saved the lives of sick, blind, crippled people?
How many of them died as heroes? How many laid down their splendid
lives for an infant in danger? How many alerted their friends of a
near danger? How many ignored their greatest fear - water - to save
the lives of drowning people?
All
dogs are amazing. Thousands of them saved our lives. A Jack Russell
alerted her masters of a fire which had assailed their home, and not
until she knew everybody was safe that she turned back in the blaze to
rescue her own, newborn puppies. When three wolves attacked a sleeping
baby, Sport, a huge mutt, distracted and annoyed them until they did
not care about the child anymore - but followed the dog, who never came
back, as he ran away. When some mad horses were about to trample to
death a blind man, his German Shepherd guide dog threw herself in front
of him and pushed him away to safety. Another blind man dropped his
Golden Retriever’s harness, when the animal would not enter an
elevator, and was surprised when his dog pushed him back strongly.
Right then, somebody arrived and cried to him that the elevator shaft
was empty - and if his guide dog had not been so smart and
quick-witted, he would have been dead by then. A poodle saved
thousands of lives by alerting her apartment building of a coming
earthquake in Japan. Had her masters not followed her outside and
warned the other residents, they would have been trapped under a
tumbling building.
We are surrounded by millions of dogs. They may look similar
outside, but inside, each dog is unique. The one thing they all share
is affection. They play with us, because they love us. They help us,
because they love us. They save our lives, because they love us. Had
they not been so affectionate, humanity would not have survived. For
all these precious deeds - don’t you think they deserve our affection
as well?
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