Cold Nights, Warm Hearts
Years ago, back when I lived in Chicago, I worked for a kind woman who watched the winter weather like a hawk and sprung into action on the city’s coldest (cruelest) nights. Chicago can get pretty cold (gross understatement) and there are lots of watchdogs on various lots with little-to-no attention and minimal-but-standard-meeting housing.
During these cold spells she’d gather blankets and prepare a warm gruel and attend to these forgotten canine servants under cover of the winter darkness. She wasn’t being sneaky, she was always one for honesty and education and also took time to befriend the dogs “owners” with the hope of coaxing them to take better care of their furry work crews and chose to lead by example and also provide the necessary tools for making life more comfortable for the dogs herself. She may have also brought chew-bones now and again, I don’t really remember, but providing warmth and basic care was her main goal.
Yesterday I read a story that brought forth this memory – the story of a team of Washington Humane Society Law Enforcement officers in D.C. that took this spirit of giving and education a step further by also providing enrichment and entertainment for the city’s underprivileged canines. Guard dogs often live lonely lives, on the fringes of society, getting little in the way of attention and care. And yet they are expected to be ever-vigilant and protective of, perhaps even give their lives for (lots of guard dogs are poisoned), their human caregivers.
This logic doesn’t make sense to me. Even if one doesn’t have a particular affinity for dogs, or perhaps sees them culturally in a different light than say the average user of Dog Star Daily… Doesn’t it make sense to assure that your guardian of property/ business/ family is both well trained for the job and well cared for and physically at his peak? Doesn’t it make sense to form a bond of mutual respect and kindness so that when push comes to shove your dog wants to defend you, his provider and the lifestyle he’s accustomed to?
My dogs are my companions first, and if they protect me in a dicey situation as Dune did recently, (a story for another day) that is a bonus not their main function. However, if I did have true guard dogs, let me assure you they would be treated extremely well; all the better to do their job effectively and with the passion necessary to thwart danger and n’er-do-wells.
Kudos to the D.C. Humane Officers, let’s hope other cities humane departments follow the example of this progressive and thoughtful group.
