Doggerel?

Almost everyone has a tale of a great dog they or their family used to have. Back in the days before people spent more on their animals' care than their own, they fed the dog with table scraps and let it go out on its own to explore the world and pee and poop in the neighbors' yards. No one spent an hour a day walking the dog on a leash for exercise--either human or canine.

There wasn't a rush to spay female dogs because families wanted to teach their kids how babies were born without having to show them the real thing. (How they explained the mother dog's eating the placenta I don't know.)

The pictures here are of Brownie, who came around in 1948 to my grandparents' home in rural South Carolina. (The two humans are me and brother Preston.) She had eight puppies obviously of varying lineage. She must have known what a soft touch Grandma was for anyone needing a meal, but she knew her place (outside) and left as soon as the little ones were able to fend for themselves. It really hurts me now to see her scrawny physique, but we didn't know any better back then.

I'm glad we have learned how to treat our animals. People who aren't pet owners rarely appreciate the feelings of affection those who own pets have for their furry, feathered or finned friends. Dogs and cats are my favorites. Some people love their birds and fish, though I don't understand why. It's so nice to arrive home to an otherwise empty house and be greeted by a waggy tail and happy "woof". Cats meet you own their own terms, but you know they care for you as they rub your ankles and try to trip you as you walk in. Sure, you have to go to the trouble of feeding them and dealing with their eliminations, but at dinner time they don't grumble "we had this yesterday" or "this doesn't taste like my mother's". There are no complaints about bedtime or refusals to pick up their toys (since you know they can't anyway).

A wise marriage counselor once advised people to treat their mates as they do their pets. Give them unconditional affection; let them come and go as they please; feed them their favorite treats; forget their transgressions. (Do you keep track of every time the puppy peed on the floor?)

Some animals get their "people" up before dawn to be let out or fed. Murphy the Bed Dog (see previous post) is not one of those, thank goodness! He lets me sleep as late as I want and doesn't care what time, or what, I feed him. He doesn't beg when I'm eating so I don't have to decide whether or not to let him have "people food". He sheds very little and doesn't sit and stare at me when I'm on the toilet. He doesn't try to get food off the table. (I wish he were more diligent about eating crumbs off the floor.) Except for his not knowing how to walk beside me on a leash (he's learning!) and weighing more than I can easily pick up (22 lbs.) he's almost perfect.