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.