Man Dogs

Walking in Montgomery’s Shakespeare
Park I noticed dog owners taking advantage of the same beautiful weather as I. There were large short hairs, small short hairs, tiny long hairs and dogs that didn’t walk but were carried. But what actually caught my attention was a man slowly turning in circles on the side of the paved walk way. As I cautiously approached I noticed he was holding a tiny leash. And as I drew nearer I realized there was what resembled a dog on the end of that leash. This thing was so small it disappeared into the uncut clover! If I had on gloves I would have removed one walked right up to him and smacked him on both of his cheeks!

What has become of man’s best friend? Where did dogs like Old Yeller, Lassie and the Saint Bernard with the small barrel of rum under his chin go? What ever happened to the junk yard dog or the dog that could out run you on your bicycle? I remember as a kid that dogs had jobs. They rode on the back of pickup trucks to protect your tools and your beer cooler. They played fetch. (Try playing fetch with a tea cup poodle). They might have slept indoors but not in your bed. They went fishing with you. They went hunting with you and occasionally peed on a tire that you owned, so he owned it too. Man dogs used to be really, really big dogs. Now big dogs are out of style.

In my opinion an itsy-bitsy dog is just another bill. It cannot protect your home. It cannot warn you in case of a fire. It could not stop an intruder or even scare one. (Actually I have been to a homicide where the owner’s tiny dog was still alive). What in the world would a person, especially a man; want with a dog so small it could hide in a shoe? A dog so little you have to carry it and worry about it being stolen. Why not get a goldfish? I would not possess something that would allow my family to be robbed or hurt and then still wants to be fed. No sir. I want a dog like a Japanese Tosa. This hundred-plus-pounds of man dog can bark and instantly the whole block knows who’s king. This dog is so big that it would be feeding on an intruder when you got home. Just like real dogs are supposed to.

~Vale~