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[PyrNet-L] "Do Dogs Really Love Us?" [adult theme & long]
Forwarded with permission....
"Do Dogs Really
Love Us?" queried a dog magazine in its latest issue.
Interviewed
"professionals" offered qualified yeas and nays. Glaringly
absent was a Sheepie owner's response. Allow me to rectify the
oversight.
The English word "love" has been prostituted by
overuse, misuse, and abuse.
I love popcorn on cold winter
nights. I love puppy breath. I love
presidential candidate #1,
who loves debating in the political arena of
ideas. When a man says he loves
his sweetheart . . . parents . . . children .
. . and students, why does he
use the single verb "to love" to express his
connectedness?
All relationships are not equal. The Greek language, more
precise than
its bastard child English, fills the void for thoughtful lovers.
Lusty
passion? Eros. Family loyal-love? Storge. My life for
yours?
Agape. Forever friends? Phileo.
"Do
Dogs Really Love Us?" begs a rebuttal question: who's asking?
A few weeks ago I ordered online the book _Dog Love_ touted by Barnes
and
Noble with no caveat to consumers; the cover portrayed a young man with
two
arms thrown around his German Shepherd. Ahh, I thought, a good
read
exploring the inexplicable affection of canines for their
uprights. Scanning
the chapter titles, my eye caught the title
"Sex and the Single Dog." Being
single myself, I anticipated
the author exploring how living with dogs
banishes loneliness. How
wrong was I? Bestiality. No condemnation for this
kind of
exploitation, but rather a lure to investigate the "thrill" touted by
modern literary authors. Ugh. Isn't there a kind of sick irony
when amoral
bestiality sneaks into a book entitled _Dog Love_?
Who is the "us" in "Do Dogs Really Love Us"?
An exploiter? voyeur?
credulous materialist?
behaviorist? altruistic owner? innocent child?
Uprights
are defined by their motives. Why do I do what I do? Can't an
upright be defined by her acts of kindness? Not entirely;
"hypocrite,"
"pretender," actor/actress" are in our
mainstream vocabulary for a reason.
Can't an upright be defined by his
words? Sadly, our words often belie
rather than reveal truth.
And our feelings are certainly no Rock of
Gibraltar when it comes to
measuring our nobleness. Too often our feelings
scream and cry the
most when an act of courage is needed, when choosing
against one's own
self-interest brings dueling feelings of peace and
heartache.
I had
*expected* to read noble, inspiring chapters in _Dog Love_ because I
had
*imputed* benign connotations to the title. My reaction?
Disillusionment. Anger. One upright deceived by another upright,
the
vendor. I wrote a carefully crafted review for B/N to post; weeks
later I'm
still waiting . . . . Could profit be more important than
educating readers?
I tossed the book in the garbage. By contrast, when
I *expect* to see
affectionate phileo-love shine out of Tassie's eyes and
into mine, my
expectations are met. Fully. Completely.
Does Tassie really love me? How droll. Do written words on a
page have
power to convey the invisible thoughts and attitudes of one
upright to
another? How can physical characters arranged in groups on
paper or screen
move an upright to tears of joy or sorrow? Change
one's destiny? They do. .
. . (And she does.)
Canines
are like unread books.To be an
owner by, de facto, infers you will begin to
"read" your elect pet. Each dog
has an inspiring story to
tell, filled with adventure, pathos and humor; he
has lessons to teach his
upright with a moral to be learned. Humans who
wilfully diminish the
unseen personality reposited in their furry "book"
unmask
themselves as morons and degrade The Good.
Uprights who approach the
"living text" with reverence are transformed and
gladly educate
"illiterate readers" to handle creatures respectfully.
"Tassie loves me this I know,
For her two eyes tell me
so."
Jadie
Decatur, IL
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/1364/friendsdavispack3.html
"In
His hand is the nephesh [soul] of every creature and the rhuach [spirit]
of
all mankind." Job 12:10
Copyright 2000 by Jadie Davis, unless
otherwise indicated. No posting may be
forwarded without consent.
Copyright 2000 by the original author, unless otherwise indicated. No
posting may be forwarded with out the consent of the original author.
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