佚名/Anonymous
The way I see it dogs had this big meeting. Oh maybe 20，000 years ago. A huge meeting-an international convention with delegates from everywhere. And thats when they decided that humans were the up and coming species and dogs were going to throw their lot in with them. The decision was obviously not unanimous. The wolves and dingoes walked out in protest.
Cats had an even more negative reaction. When they heard the news they called their own meeting-in Paris of course-to denounce canine subservience to the human hyper-power. Their manifesto-La Condition Féline-can still be found in provincial bookstores. Cats, it must be said, have not done badly. Using guile and seduction they managed to get humans to feed them thus preserving their superciliousness without going hungry. A neat trick. Dogs being guileless signed and delivered. It was the beginning of a beautifulfriendship.
I must admit that I‘ve been slow to warm to dogs. I grew up in a non-pet friendly home. Dogs do not figure prominently in our households. My father was not very high on pets. He wasn’t hostile. He just saw them as superfuous an encumbrance.
My parents did allow a hint of zoological indulgence. I had a pet turtle. My brother had a parakeet. Both came to unfortunate ends. My turtle fell behind a radiator and was not discovered until too late. And the parakeet God bless him few out a window once never to be seen again. After such displays of stewardship we dared not ask for a dog.
My introduction to the wonder of dogs came from my wife Robyn. She‘s Australian. And Australia as lovingly recounted in Bill Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country. In a place, you cherish niceness in the animal kingdom. And they dont come nicer than dogs.
Robyn started us off slowly. She got us a Border collie Hugo when our son was about 6.She knew that would appeal to me because the Border collie is the smartest species on the planet. Hugo could play outfeld in our backyard baseball games：do fawless front door sentry duty, and play psychic weathermen announcing with a wail every coming thunderstorm.