I was reading bits and pieces of the Micheal Vick drama and pit bull rescues etc. It is heart wrenching to think of the way people used and abused these dogs. One blogger commented on the scars, missing teeth, and limp ears. Called these dogs weapons and soldiers taught to fight not pets.
That got me to thinking about my own dogs. They have scars, missing teeth, one has a split tongue, and all the other various maladies and limps that come with being a tool, pet, and part of the family at our house.
So what is the difference? Someone could look at Pancho and be upset, but they would probably be more disturbed at his howls when it is not his day to work. We rotate our dogs so they all get used and have time off through out the week. But they hate their days off and live to work cows. Pancho has this stupid, goofy look on his face when he puts one back in the herd. You know " I did good huh, I showed that beast who is boss." Weapon? Maybe not. Tool? Definitely!
They are also part of our family.
For Christmas, one of the gifts I asked for was a book titled "The Lost Dogs". It was a book written about the Michael Vick case and the dogs. There is a HUGE difference between the Vick dogs and yours. The first big difference is that your dogs are bred and genetically endowed to do what they do. The MV dogs were bred to fight but he didn't have the genetics behind them, and most of the dogs were not aggressive...so they didn't fight or only fought defensively and many died for that very reason. MV and his cronies killed the poor fighters. There were only 2 dogs out of the whole lot that were euthed for aggression and one of those was a bitch who was repeatedly put on the rape stand and bred. It wasn't fighting that made her aggressive.
ReplyDeleteSecond of all, the work your dogs do is dangerous. It's the environment that does the harm to them, not being forced to do something they don't want to do in the first place. As you noted, your dogs are disappointed and sad when they don't get to help.
The Vick dogs......were afraid if they had to work.
Holly,
ReplyDeleteAll very good points. I was trying to convey from a cursory glance, a person who didn't understand our lifestyle would not understand the scars or the usefulness these dogs have to the operation. They fill in for another person and for the most part (unless someone is watching :)) Do a good job!
Thanks for your comments!