Love dogs or hate them, 31% of New Zealanders own them. I'm one of the 31%. My dog is Bryn. He was two years old last week. He's a cross breed. Mother a border collie. Father a golden retriever. Picture by Jacob Hemsley Mutual contractClearly my wife and I like dogs or we wouldn't have one. This is dog number six. Having had dogs for many years I've developed a bit of a 'dog philophsy'. It involves a mutual contract. The dog works for us. I work for him. Work? I think it is. His work is to be with me and in our household. My work is to look after him. Learning
Always on the jobBryn is continuously doing his job. He’s nearby as I write this. Writing is an on-your-own task so I like having Bryn here. Sometimes he lies in the hallway just by the open front door; sometimes outside on the music room steps, but wherever he is, all day he guards the front gates – by sound rather than by sight. At the slightest click of the latch he’s in alert mode. And if I don’t come he rushes in to get me before darting out again. At night, as if on permanent guard, he lies in his bed just inside the entrance to our bedroom. In the morning, if I stay in bed too long, (past 6 am )he nuzzles me awake. Does he know the time? Probably he wants the early morning biscuit he gets when I’ve made my coffee. Bryn, although only two, is attuned to the patterns of our household. When the phone rings, if I don’t go to it immediately, he comes and makes a fuss. If I look in a bedroom drawer for a warm jersey he looks too. If I go outside to hang out the washing he comes as well. And if a smoke alarm goes off he howls like a banshee. We would not be able to sleep through that! But where’s the fun? I suppose thinking of one’s dog as ‘working,’ sounds a bit heavy, serious and ponderous. Where’s the fun, the play, the rolling and gambolling and the being friends? Where are the pats and hugs? They are all there. In fact they are built in – integrated. When Marion and I are gardening Bryn comes to join us, and brings a ball. So gardening is punctuated by ball throwing. Going to the park with a throw-stick once a day is a must. Bryn will retrieve a tennis ball for ever. He jumps and plucks it out of the air. He turns and grabs it when it hits a bump. He brings it back and drops it at my feet. The walking is full of fun too. We often walk bush tracks alongside a stream. Bryn swims even on freezing days. Ngaio, the suburb in Wellington where I live, is rich in those sorts of places. Even on bush walks, when sniffing and poking about, Bryn is still at work. He’s keeping me company in places that are potentially dangerous for a slip or a fall. He’s with me when I meet others in the bush, whoever they may be. I’m not on my own. Contract
I know that to some dog owners, ‘working dog’ seems a strange and unnecessary way of thinking. To me it seems an accurate and honourable description. ########## John McInnes
Friday 26 April 2019 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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