I already knew that dogs played an important part in people's lives, but this idea was further reinforced yesterday when I took my half brothers to the local park. There was another family there who had a Labrador with them. It was tied to one of the park benches while its owner helped her kid play on the playground, and was barking because it mustn't have liked being tied up (which is fair enough). As Kory (my three year old half brother) and I walked towards the playground he seemed to be afraid of the barking dog. I said that it was only barking because it was tied up and that we could go over and pat it. He seemed interested in this idea but lost interest as Jayke (my five year old half brother), who was sulking decided to join us. A few minutes later Kory yells "Jules, are we going to pat the doggy?!", so we went over to the owner, who now had her dog with her and I asked if we could pat her dog, to which she said we could. The dog, who was a he, was really soft and friendly and enjoyed the attention. I was glad to be patting a dog as I miss Tara (my Cocker Spaniel in Christchurch) terribly. Kory was reluctant to pat the Labrador (I guess because it was pretty much as tall as him), which surprised me as he seemed enthusiastic to go over to it. He eventually gave it a quick pat, which I'm unsure if either parties enjoyed or not.
This encounter got me thinking how important it is to have contact with animals as a child. Jayke and Kory don't have any pets as my dad and their mum don't like them (sad, sad people), and I'm pretty sure that none of their relatives have any either. As a result of this, they are reasonably afraid of dogs and lack understanding that we share this world with many other wonderful creatures that deserve to be treated with respect. The reason I say this is because once Kory was playing and pretending to be a dog and Jayke said "naughty dog, get back in your cage!". This shocked me a bit because I had never heard anyone say that before in a game of pretend, and most people don't want animals to be in a cage, especially a dog.
Personally, I have spend the large majority of my life around dogs and love them to bits. I'm actually finding it a bit hard to not have one around. I love how dogs love you unconditionally and are always excited to see you. When I was younger I thought it was strange how anyone could be afraid of a dog, as most dogs wouldn't hurt a fly. The reason dogs become aggressive is because they have been poorly treated by humans. Now I think I understand why some people are afraid of dogs. I think it is because they've had lack of contact with them and have a lack of knowledge of animals in general. Now that I think about it, most people who I've come across that are afraid of dogs haven't been around pets very much and aren't particularly interested in animals anyway.
Therefore, I believe it is important for animals to be a part of the family. They teach people how to respect and understand animals, as well as teaching them how to be responsible and caring towards another creature. Children are way less likely to be afraid of dogs and be more confident around them if they have one as part of the family (unfortunately it's not possible for all families to have a pet). Dog's are man's best friend. If you don't believe me, adopt a dog and then you will see.
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| Unconditional Love (Tara and I) |
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