The Animal Kingdom

"A DOG IS A MAN'S BEST FRIEND." Haven't we all heard that saying? It's because dogs are loyal to their masters, and no matter what, they're always happy when their owner turns the key, practically jumping all over and licking him by the time he steps in through the door. But what happens when the owner trains his dog to be vicious like a fighting dog? Ever see a pit bull fight where the owners gamble on which dog will defeat the other? Then, is it still safe to say that a dog is a man's best friend, when that poor dog doesn't even know the difference between love and murder because he just faithfully obeys whatever his master tells him to do? I mean, as long as the dog is being fed and sheltered, what else does a dog know about a healthy relationship, right?

Sadly, the other day (And I can't give up too much information here) someone's rottweiler killed a little girl's poodle as she took it for its daily walk up the street. And to be exact, it was two rottweiler's attacking this dog until they tore it apart, still attacking it senselessly even after the poodle was already silently dead. The owner ran outside to stop his rottweilers from continuing but they kept on going and going and going, until the owner hit the dogs enough times with a shovel causing them to finally give up. Unfortunately I will never forget the horrific screams that the little girl gave for about twenty minutes as she witnessed her puppy being viciously pulled apart in front of her own eyes. The neighbors and I are at least thankful that the little girl wasn't touched, although now our greatest fear is that the next time it won't be a puppy that gets murdered, but it will be a child.

Although these dogs were kept inside of the owners gates, inside of his property when it happened (I believe the poodle either jumped over the front gates or got pulled in from underneath) I just wonder how those dogs got to be so vicious in the first place? And what I heard someone say once was this: Most animals reflect the behavior of their owner.

I remember a friend of mine who owned a big rottweiler growing up as a kid. His name was Buddy, and he was even bigger than the two dogs that attacked this poodle, but it was friendly. He wagged his tail at everyone who ever walked passed him, even if he didn't know you he was still friendly, sticking his long tongue out like a red carpet awaiting Kings and Queens. And I'm not just saying this because I was friends with his owner, but I remember people walking up and down the street safely and never being afraid of Buddy. Buddy was a harmless dog, amongst other people as well as other animals, and I suppose he was trained well.

Yet on the other hand, these two rottweilers who attacked this puppy are actually two out of five rottweilers that this pet owner has all living under the same roof. So I can't help but wonder, what has the owner been teaching them behind closed doors, and why does he have five dogs anyway? Isn't one or two enough? But since I'm only making assumptions, I don't want to judge what I do not know for a fact, although it raises my suspicions about relationships in general.

So whose fault is it anyway that the poodle died in such a horrific scene? He didn't die of old age, an illness, or crossing the street. He died in pain and agony by his very own species. And what I have come to conclude is that it is NOT the rottweilers faults because I've seen other's who are calm and playful amongst other types of dogs, even cats. I think what bothers me the most is that the owner must've raised them to be vicious. I have two cats myself and I lift them up, hugging them inside of my arms everyday. I never train them to run and catch mice, although I'm sure they would love to because it's in their nature. Yet instead I buy them toy mice and balls with bells. I just wonder why that owner has so MANY rottweilers and if it's even normal to have that many. It makes me wonder if they've even killed in the past, before he even moved into the neighborhood. (He's been here less than six months, and already this has happened) Whose to say what else will happen in a year or two if he plans to stay? Has he trained them to fight and kill? Why do his dogs go wild every time other dogs walk by? Dogs do sniff each other butts and bark at one another, sometimes even bite one another. But to actually kill, especially a small poodle? Why is it that other dogs of the same breed are calm, but these aren't? Is it in fact, the owner's intention to train them that way?

You know that saying, "You've created a monster?"

As human beings, we are responsible for anything that is smaller than us. It doesn't give us a free pass to take out our aggression on something that can't answer back to us. That's not fair. It should make us even that much MORE AWARE to read body language since animals can not verbally speak to us. We must know how they feel by the look in their eyes, the sounds they make, and the affection or violence they give. Taking care of smaller animals, be it dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and even fish, means being that much more attentive because they can not tell us when they're sick or angry or sad. It is our responsibility to make sure that they are happy, healthy and safe. And that goes for the poodle and the rottweilers. Any, and all dogs have a right to be with the right owner. Being loyal to just any master, just isn't good enough.