Dogs Will Be Dogs

 

Sometimes seeing a dog or cat that looks like one you owned long ago can bring back some powerful and warm memories. The animal you're looking at is of course not your beloved Fluffy or Rex or Mr. Ratkiller ( don't ask ). But they sure look like them, don't they? Part of this is because certain breeds not only are pretty uniform in appearance but also may be quite close in behavior and temperament to the pet you remember so well. And this is often intentional on the part of the breeders. They may want to sell dogs that are mellow and good with children, or more assertive pooches that interact more with other animals and are better suited for ranch and farm work.

The point being that the animal that's reminding you of one you once owned may further boost those recollections by acting very similar to the pet you remember. The best dog I ever owned was a Black Lab mix named Violet. What she was mixed with I have no idea, but it couldn't have been much of a canine blend...except for the white socks on her feet she looked like an AKC champ. And she acted like almost every Lab I've ever encountered...smart, curious, energetic, affectionate, protective and at times...delightfully goofy. Violet would diligently and alertly patrol the entire perimeter of the chain-link fence surrounding our house. If a car drove by or somebody went by on a bicycle she'd go off like an army of bears was charging the gates and only she stood between us and imminent mauling. Yep, this she-wolf was a force to be reckoned with, and she meant business. And then...a butterfly would flit past her. Instantly Violet would let out with a joyous YIP! and do a back-flip. Then she'd plant her front paws and stare at the butterfly, her head cocked to the side while her back paws furiously kicked up dirt. It makes me smile thinking of that, like she was a dinosaur with separate front and back brains working at the same time but independently of each other. Don't let your left back paw know what your right front paw is doing, I suppose.

I was thinking about all this because of an encounter at a red light while I drove through town last week. I approached an intersection and as I came to a stop I saw a girl, looked about UF student age, waiting to cross the road. She had a Black Lab on a leash and instantly I thought of good ol' Violet. They started into the cross-walk and just as they got to my car a large green dragonfly lit on my hood. And suddenly I was watching an old home movie...the Black Lab yipped, back-flipped and cocked its' head while it stood in the middle of the road staring at the dragonfly. The back paws weren't kicking up dirt but they were sure scraping back and forth on the asphalt. The girl was laughing and I got quite a chuckle out of it as well. She managed to pull the dog away but all the way across it kept looking back at my hood. That pooch would have happily stayed there until the bug flew off or until somebody's loud honking broke the insect-watching daze. Violet left us years ago but times like that remind me that she has cousins around that bring as much joy to their human companions as Violet always gave us. We miss you and we love you, old girl.