1 post tagged “dog”

Jon Katz has an article on Slate this week about one of his dogs, a Border Collie named Rose. Pet dogs are cute and I love having them around the house -- I can't imagine life without them. But a completely dedicated working dog stirs something in me that I usually associate with stories of human heroics -- the soldier that holds the line while his comrades move on to win the day, the single mother who works three jobs to keep a home and food and good life for her kids. I can get positively weepy -- a mix of admiration and wonder, and a little bit of envy.

I know it's a little bit different, because the humans are making a choice and the dogs are just doing what they're designed to do; I'm not anthropomorphizing the dogs. (While I do occasionally anthropomorphize my own dogs, it's a tendency I really, really dislike. And for noodle's sake, don't ever refer to me as my dog's "daddy".)

There's something that level of dedication and intensity is amazing to me, but I think it's also seeing something live up to and exceed its full potential. It's like watching a herd of wild ponies galloping across the hills of Wales. It makes me want to scream with joy, though I never would for fear of breaking a spell or something.

But read (or listen -- Katz is a good reader) to the story. It's really swell.