Barbara Abramson thinks humans can learn a few lessons from man’s best friends.
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One of my favorite walking trails has an area that allows dog owners to share the path with the non-pet walkers. Having lost my miniature schnauzer recently, it brings me great joy to visit with many of the dogs and chat with their owners.
In the play area, the dogs romp freely with each other. There are white dogs, red dogs, black dogs and blonde, others with multi-color markings, thick and thin fur, various eye colors and shapes.
Genetically, dogs that are bred in certain parts of the world have attributes indigenous to that area. Dogs bred to live in the frozen north have thicker coats to protect them, hotter climates result in thinner fur. Their shapes also reflect if they are bred to be working dogs with larger snouts for smelling the quarry on a hunt, or small, wiry and fast to chase and root out rodents, or large and strong to guard or herd. Whether bred to work or to be a companion, we know that dogs come in all shapes and sizes.
Our bodies are not made differently due to race.
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Then there is the human race. Yes, we are ALL humans. Our bodies are not made differently due to race. We don’t have 340 different varieties of humans as there are breeds of dogs (not including mixed breeds.) But humans from the far north in Scandinavian countries where there is not much sun have lighter skin. Humans near the middle east have skin with an olive tone and humans near the equator where the heat is higher have darker skin, plus many variations in between all around the world. Our skin color is a normal representation of generations of a group of people living in a particular environment. Our eyes reflect genetics as well. These attributes have nothing to do with intelligence, skills, violence, drug use or any of the many factors we humans seem to analyze and pin on others not the same as us.
Our access to other parts and people of the world grew as the ability to travel easily around the globe did. We encountered new places, had new experiences and discovered others who were built JUST LIKE US, but had different skin, hair, eyes and often language. What was the fear factor that spurred hate for the unknown, disdain for differences and fear that evil existed in something that did not match our own reflection? Were we projecting what we didn’t like inside ourselves onto others who looked different?
Were we projecting what we didn’t like inside ourselves onto others who looked different?
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What if humans only owned dogs whose fur matched their skin color? Would it be socially unacceptable for a black man to have a white dog, a white man a red dog, a man with red hair to have a dog with blonde fur? Should bi-racial couples only have mixed-breeds? Let’s not even get into gender.
I believe that most humans (and dogs) are good and kind. But I also believe there is always room for more.
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Here is what I learned about treating everyone the same from observing dogs.
Dogs have no preference as to the other dogs’ breed or color, the thickness of the fur, length of the tail, or shape of the ears, body or face.
Dogs don’t snub or look down on each other because of differences.
Dogs don’t feel the need to seek approval from other dogs. They are just happy to be in each other’s company.
Dogs are loyal. They don’t gossip or brag
Dogs don’t care what their humans look like. They care about being loved and loving back.
We can learn a lot from their four-legged wisdom.
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Photo:Flickr/Don Diebold
All dogs want is unconditional love; however, we humans put conditions on love. In addition, at least you can try to deprogram dogs that are vicious where it is almost impossible to do with human beings.
I like the pragmatic way both people and pooches are designed to best adapt to the original climate in which their ancestors lived. Way to go, Mommy Nature. And now that we’re one big global, traveling community, so much diversity in people — and pooches — abounds. As you point out, doggies don’t care about the superficialities of their peers, and increasingly, humans too are discovering that we’re all much more similar than we are different. But what about cats? My two tabbies tend to gang up on my calico. (But it’s probably just because she beats them to the… Read more »