"Kreisleriana" wrote in message
...


A couple of weeks ago, as I passed a business near my house, I noticed
a splendid big dog tied outside. He was a German shepherd type-dog,
very heavy-boned-- but on closer examination, I saw that he was very
young-- hardly more than a big puppy. He had bright, curious eyes, a
doggy smile, and a big, fluffy, waggy tail.

I went to take a closer look at him, and heard yelling from the open
door. "No! No! Get away!"
I stopped and looked at the men who had come outside. "He bites?" I
said dubiously. This dog stood up, and was now looking expectantly at
me with friendly eyes, and a still-wagging tail. I've certainly made
mistakes about dogs before. But there was no sign of aggression,
fear, or defensiveness with this dog.

"Yes, he bites," they said, and I walked away, perplexed. Something
not right there.

A few days later, I was walking by, and the big waif had obviously
worked his charms on another passerby. A young woman was petting him
on the nose, which he was obviously enjoying. Again there was yelling
from inside the door, and the lady was chased away.

All of a sudden it hit me. That dog certainly is friendly! They
don't *want* him to be friendly.

My heart sank. Of course, the dog is enormous-- he's going to be a
guard dog. These guys didn't get a huge dog just to eat a ton of food
a day and be a pal.

Later the same day, when I came home, the dog was being walked by a
young man. Busybody that I am, I approached them, and told the young
man what a beautiful dog it was. The dog's eyes lit up just as
before, and his big fluffy tail started wagging. The young man, who
didn't speak English well, just said "Don't touch." I said "He
bites?" The boy said "I don't know. He might." This sounded pretty
weaselly to me, and I said, "You don't want him to be nice. You want
him to be mean." The boy said "He's a guard dog."

I went away, my heart sinking more. There's really nothing I can do
about this, unless they *really* mistreat him. But I can't imagine
a very nice life for him. Even if they don't beat him, or tease him,
or starve him, even if they take the modicum of humane care of him,
this lovely dog will not have a happy life. There is nothing that
makes me madder than the idea of taking an animal who so clearly has
an open, friendly, trusting nature, and messing with that, and ruining
it. I can't get him out of my mind.

And it's so unneccessary! Even a dog that is allowed to be friendly to
strangers, is showered with love and affection, and is a big love bug, will
defend his territory and his "pack" against aggressive strangers. You don't
need an "attack" dog to defend yourself or your property. Even a tiny dog
is good protection because most burglars will not take the chance that a
barking dog will alert someone to their presence and will look for another
target.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com