Dogs take their role as house-guards very seriously. It always works against people. An irritable moose, an alligator, or four cats who definitely don’t want to play… not so much. We humans run away. The extremely large monitor lizard in this video… doesn’t.
A good video. Here is a recollection from my book “The Path Life Takes” that fits this post.
During my childhood, occasionally we shared the joy of canine companionship. The first dog I can recall was a good-natured, Labrador mix—short-haired, black in color, and fifty pounds of stick-chasing, rough-and-tumble fun, whom I named Dusty.
One summer day while mom was chatting with a neighbor, a salesman decided to call upon our home. As he walked up our gravel driveway, all decked out in a black suit and tie, I’m sure he thought he was about to give another dull, routine sales presentation.
Dusty saw him approaching and, not taking too kindly to this stranger, went for him in a very aggressive fashion. Her back and shoulders were all hunched up, grizzly bear style, and the fur around her neck looked like a lion’s mane, with all of it standing at attention as she lunged, stiff-legged, at him. She looked ferocious as she bared her teeth and growled in a frightening, menacing manner. The saliva was also a flyin’ each time she barked.
I’m sure Dusty’s target was eminently happy he had remembered to bring his color-coordinated, black leather briefcase to this sales call. For he was now engaged in a curious type of dance, a rather desperate struggle to keep his briefcase between him and this jumping, wild-eyed, uncontrolled beast, who was doing her level best to see if peddlers were “aw good eat’n.”
While Dusty and the salesman were kicking up stones and dust during their vigorous exercise, mother, upon hearing the commotion, looked up, and when she saw what was happening, started to laugh very hard, for she had never seen our sweet-tempered hound act this way before. She struggled to control her laughter as she tried to reassure the salesman with comforting words, “Don’t worry, she doesn’t bite.” But the salesman was not assured, and mother’s words did not erase the look of terror on his face. Their enthusiastic tango continued until mother was able to grab our spirited pooch by the collar and drag her off.
I’m sure mother’s boisterous laughter continued to ring in his ears throughout the remainder of the day, and our dog’s ferocity must have haunted his dreams for years to come.
That is completely hilarious. I can just see it.
Moreover, that’s not a fictional story, I watched it all unfold. And I’m sure, if that salesman is alive, he is still plagued with nightmares about that encounter.
“He doesn’t bite.”
That’s what they all say.
I think it was a Far Side cartoon. Two men were sitting in chairs. A huge dog has his jaws clamped tightly around one guy’s leg. The other man says: “Relax, he can smell fear.”
“He’ll let go before any real damage is done…”