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Teaching a Bad Dog New Tricks

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  • B

    This was sent to me and I thought I'd share.

    Teaching a Bad Dog New Tricks As heard on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, September 16, 2007.
    I believe in my dog.

    I believe in the way he lives his life, and I try to emulate him. I strive to gain his level of happiness in the simplest of things. Like the way he approaches each meal with endless appreciation and even joy. While I struggle to decide what to eat from full cupboards and lament what I don’t have, he circles the floor, excitedly anticipating the very same meal, in the very same portion, at the very same time every day.

    I believe in how he lives in the present. As my day fills with stress, crowded commutes and endless deadlines, I think of Duncan home alone. His day was probably boring, but he’s ready to move right past it once we’re together.

    I believe in his egalitarian treatment of everyone despite race, creed or appearance. He never pre-judges. Before I had him, I considered myself “street smart,” avoiding eye contact with people I didn’t know or didn’t think I wanted to know. Running through Chicago neighborhoods with Duncan has changed all that. Now when people smile at us, I smile back, and if Duncan stops to say hello I stop and greet them, too.

    I never had a dog before; I got Duncan at the urging of a friend who had probably grown as tired of my bachelor behavior as I had. My long work nights and weekends always ended with a lonely run, a bourbon or two, or a phone call to someone I didn’t really listen to. All I talked about was me and what was wrong with my life. My friends stopped asking me out because I was always either at work or talking about work.

    I had dates with women who would mistakenly think I was loyal to them but I never returned their calls or thanked them for the cookies they left on my doorstep. I was what some people would call “a dog” – a bad dog. Not one person depended on me, nor I upon them. One Sunday I woke up at noon, and I suddenly noticed how silent my house and my life was. I realized I couldn’t expect any valued relationship until I created one first. So I got Duncan.

    All of a sudden, where no one depended on me, he did. It was extreme detox from selfishness: Let me out. Feed me. Clean up after me. Watch me sleep. I found that I actually liked being relied upon. When I realized that I could meet his needs, I also realized he met mine.

    I believe in the nobility of Duncan’s loyalty, and his enthusiasm. Every time I come in the door, he’s waiting to greet me with glee.

    Now, when my girlfriend comes over, I get up and run to the door to greet her like I learned to do from my dog.

    Before he met his chocolate Labrador, Duncan, trial attorney David Buetow was a lifelong bachelor. He now resides with his fiancée and Duncan on Chicago’s north side, where he and Duncan run frequently, and all three spend many evenings together at home.

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  • nala121498N

    That is a great story. Thank you for sharing it.

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    @dmcarty: OK this is where lots of people will get realy realy mad at me but I'm going to say it anyway. While I appreciate desire and any rescue or raid the puppy mill groups desire to save some animals in deplorable conditions - I keep coming back to the phrase, "unintended consequences". Because dogs were purchased at auction or out of a pet store or some place in deplorable conditions - you have increased the 'market' for that breed of dog. They (PM's) don't care about your kind heart, have little guilt about the conditions they were in - they know the dog was sold. Several years ago many in basenji rescue and BCOA were involved in a horrid situation in Kansas City. Placing a huge number of dogs - now many breeders have not bred in some time because there is no "market' for puppies from reputable breeders - some because they gave up homes that were on their lists to these rescues - some because they've taken in some of these dogs themselves and can't have any more dogs in their house. While it pains me to say this because I do have a heart - I think there is a point where because of our collective 'heart' we are making the problem worse. If there was not a 'market' for these animals - we would not have puppy mills. BTW - the only way you can even think about this is if you don't have your fur-baby on your lap. But do think about it a bit. I understand your stance on the puppy mill but these puppies were actually from the McMinn County Animal Shelter in Athens, TN. The deplorable conditions I described occurred at the shelter and while on transport with the shelter's volunteer to a rescue group. Even though this is a shelter run by a humane society the conditions there we overcrowded, dirty, and no better then a puppy mill. With that said, the volunteers who work there do the best they can with few resources and little or no knowledge about veterinary medicine. They do provide a service when in the month of June over 400 stray and surrendered pets were admitted to the shelter. If you've ever been to a country that lacks a system to deal with stray animals then the importance of such a system is apparent, regardless of the conditions found at the shelter. Who know's where the parents came from but in the south (as in much of the country) we have a large problem with the lack of spay and neutering. I actually paid $0 from the shelter to obtain the pups. Since they were headed for euthanasia the volunteers and animal control officer released them to me so I could provide them with medical care. More than likely these pups were from someones' dogs out in the country who weren't spayed or neutered and probably was allowed to run free. Who knows maybe the parents were from a backyard breeder or puppy mill but I would never advocate for people to pay a large sum of money for a purebred dog instead of a good ol mutt from the pound just because somewhere along the way a relative of that pound puppy might have been from someplace I don't support. Everybody has to make their own decision but I have trouble faulting the shelter and its volunteer workers when its the city, county, and federal government and its representatives who should do a better job providing the funding necessary to train competent workers and provide adequate housing conditions. In a rural county such as McMinn in Tennessee these resources are just not available.