Dogs don’t usually get an
obituary. I may think that Homer was an extraordinary dog, but every dog owner
believes that about their dogs. Obituaries are mainly for people who knew the
deceased, and many people were acquainted with Homer, and many more know of our
family’s obsession with Boston terriers. So this is for them. And for me.
Homer had the best doggy life
we could provide. Homer spent every day with his brother, Hector. In fact,
nearly every minute. They went everywhere together, inside and out. They slept
on the same bed, usually touching, sometimes with one’s head on the other’s
body. They came with me to my office every day. On the few occasions they were
separated, for example when one went to the vet, the other was confused,
hanging near the door. I don’t know how Hector will deal with Homer’s absence.
That’s another reminder that
our understanding of our pets is limited. We may be able to predict what they
will do, but we can’t penetrate their little minds. Unless they display their
emotions with sounds or actions in some obvious way, their thinking is a
mystery.
Dogs’ minds are much simpler
than ours, but they certainly do think.
They decide what to do in the situations that they confront. They obey
our commands, not like robots, but more like little children, who wrestle with
the conflict between what they are told to do and what they want to do.
Every dog wants to jump up
and this is one of the most important things to teach a dog not to do. Our
dogs’ jumping was always about being friendly. While it may be fine for the
family, jumping up on children, the elderly, or people who are worried about
dogs is not good. We always trained our dogs not to jump, but they still did
it, especially when someone crouched to pet them. I have witnessed many amusing
moments, when someone leaned down to pet one of our Bostons, who then raised up
and licked them in the face. Very friendly, but not always welcome.
We have lived with four
Boston terriers and none of them barked. Our first two, Hermes and Ajax, never
barked. I mean that literally – I don’t think Hermes ever barked and I believe
that I heard Ajax bark once. Not much good as guard dogs, but very peaceful.
Neither Homer nor Hector barked for their first 7 or 8 years, then started
occasionally to bark when someone came to the door. These barks were not
aggressive – as soon as anyone came in the door, both dogs would wag, greet,
lick, and sometimes jump up.
Like people, as dogs get
older, their behavior changes. Some changes represent learning. Homer learned
that when we let the dogs out in the backyard, and then forgot about them while
watching TV, he could come around to the front of the house and put his paws up
on the window sill. Barking here might have helped, but see previous section
about barking. Homer also learned how to tell us that he was desperate to go
out. He would sit down in front of us and stare silently for as long as it took
to get our attention. It took us a while to figure out his meaning, but this
was an unmistakable signal about what he wanted. People can train dogs, but
dogs can also train people.
One change in Homer’s
behavior became a problem. At age 8 or so, he began to get aggressive, a trait
that is unusual among Boston terriers. He would occasionally nip at dogs who
crowded him, or came near his food or his bed. Homer and Hector had always
engaged in play fighting, accompanied by fearsome noises and bared teeth, but
never with any intent to harm. Recently Homer seemed to be less playful in
these doggy arguments.
Worst of all, Homer began to
nip at children. Our earlier Bostons were delightful with little kids, but
Homer and Hector entered our lives when our children were grown, and therefore
rarely encountered babies or toddlers. That became a problem when babies began
to appear in the lives of our children’s generation. Homer did not like animals
his size other than Hector crawling onto his bed or getting near to his face.
It’s hard to know what he thought about babies. Did he think they were other
dogs? Was he trying to send a message about keeping a distance?
He didn’t growl or bite, just
nip. But nipping a baby’s face can be dangerous and is completely unacceptable.
He nipped our nephew’s son and our daughter’s friend’s son. Both of our
children now have babies who will soon be crawling around. He began to nip at
other dogs. Sometimes he seemed unfriendly to Hector.
That brought a painful
decision, but a necessary one. We tried neutering Homer, but it had no effect.
It seemed to us that there was only one alternative. Biting dogs, in my
opinion, have no place in human society.
How will Hector react to
Homer’s disappearance? He may be even sadder than we are.
Steve Hochstadt
Berlin, Germany
Published in the Jacksonville
Journal-Courier, February 6, 2018
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