Buddy System

Captain Jack is the friendliest dog.  I know that's a bold claim and it's packed with exaggeration.  He is an extremely friendly dog, though.  Since we've overcome his food possession, he has not attacked any person or dog.  He tries to play with cats, though they'd rarely like to.  I'm not sure if he chases pigeons to eat them, or for fun.

He was jumping up on random people.  Now, with a whistle I can usually stop him before he gets to that point, but he'll still follow them when he's not on-leash.  He's very sociable.  He wants to meet everyone- except snowmen, he hates them.

There have been two people since I've met Jack that he didn't like.  One day, we were walking along Gold (the street near my apartment) and passed two people.  One of them tried to say hello and Jack went feral.  Fortunately, he was on a leash.  I just popped him on the butt to get his attention and we walked the other way.  I don't know what about that guy Jack didn't like.  I never will.

But, here we are a few months later.  Jack and I were going to the duck pond, as usual, so that he could run it off (whatever 'it' is).  We were waiting at a stop light when Jack began growling intently.  I looked up and saw a guy coming toward us.  He asked for bus fare and Jack went feral again, barking fiercely and pulling at the leash with all his might.  The guy stopped at the end of the leash, which I was thankful for and I reigned Jack in a little (but just a little) and told the guy that I didn't have any money.

At that point, the seemingly normal individual started twisting and contorting his body.  He wrapped his arms around himself and his head at awkward, double jointed angles and started stomping one of his feet.  He growled in a shrill voice, "Stop! Touching! Her!"  The light changed.  I brought Jack to the other side of me and crossed.

My little buddy has my trust.  When he wigs out, I pay attention.

 

Freedom!

I don't like thinking of myself as a dog owner.  I'm not his master.
Jack is not my child.  I didn't help to create him.  I'm not his daddy (or mommy).
I'm his buddy.  He's my inarticulate friend.

I don't like the idea of having to control another being.  All living things ought to be free to pursue their own destinies.  So, it really bothers me to make Jack do things on the premise that they're for his own good.  Who am I to decide what's good for him?  I make him wait in a cage for six hours a day while I'm in school.  When we go for walks, I don't let him off leash until we reach a "safe" play area and then I make him wear his leash again when we return.  I don't let him eat cat poop or those plastic bags he loves.







I'm like a Nazi.  I watch every move he makes and punish him for "unacceptable behavior."  So what if he wants to jump up on everyone he meets?  Who cares if he bites the hand that feeds?  Why should I care if it reflects on me?

My teenage self would punch me in the nose.  "You let that dog do what he wants!"  He would yell.  What does he know?

Sometimes, I picture myself as a kind of ape- like a gorilla.  Jack's the tiny buddy of a grouchy gorilla. This gorilla saved his furry butt from a cage full of chihuahuas or a house full of tail-pulling toddlers.  He lives with me and I feed him, so he's gotta live by monkey law.




Monkey Law:
No pooping or peeing in the monkey hut
No jumping on other monkeys unless they ask you to
No eating monkey food unless it's offered

That seems reasonable.  In exchange he gets food, shelter, and I keep him Not-Dead.  If I let him do what he wants, this little dork would eat a whole box of chocolates and run into oncoming traffic.  He follows me home and comes when I call, so I guess there's a tacit agreement that he enjoys my company and will obey monkey law.





Author note:  I wrote this sometime in 2014.  Before I sat down to edit it, I found out that my friend's dogs had been hit by cars that day.  Out of respect, I refrained from posting this.  As a result, I hit a kind of wall with this blog, but now I feel I can post this and open the floodgate.  To all you Jack Fans, sorry for the delay.  To my dear friend, I'm still sorry for your loss.