The appointment for the visit had been made and the only information available was that the prospective client was unwilling to give any information on the phone and he sounded rather pompous.
I arrived at the address which was on a rather exclusive housing development and the first impression was that this was no ordinary house.
The front lawn was immaculate, not a weed or a patch of moss anywhere, the edges were razor-sharp, the paintwork didn’t have a blemish, even the guttering shimmered in the sunlight. The doorbell resounded to the strains of “Ode to Joy” the anthem of the European Union and the door was opened by a lady who greeted me with,
“Mr Hodson? I’m Doreen Kendrick. Please come this way, my husband is expecting you.”
Whilst the greeting was courteous there was no warmth, in fact, I felt that my arrival was not welcome. I followed and it was like being shown into a managing directors office by his secretary. Sitting behind what was a beautifully carved desk was Mr Kendrick resplendent in an immaculate three-piece suit, collar and tie. On the desk was a beautiful model of The Cutty Sark in full sail. The pleasantries over Mr Kendrick wasted no time in getting down to business.
“I need you to instruct my wife how to behave with Millicent.”
“Millicent?”
“Yes, my dog.”
“Your dog?”
“Yes.”
“Is this a working dog?”
“No.”
“A family pet?”
“Well yes I suppose you could say that but I insist that everything is done properly.”
“And what is the problem.”
” Well basically my wife doesn’t seem to understand that we must start as we mean to go on but I need a professional to confirm that what I am saying is correct. ”
“Before we go on what is Millicent and how old is she?”
“She is a West Highland White Terrier, very highly bred from championship stock, and very valuable.”
He waved her pedigree form in my direction as if to emphasise the number of champions, written in red, that were in her lineage.
“And how old?”
“Exactly 12 weeks today.”
“And what are the areas of conflict?”
Mr Kendrick opened a paper file and proceeded to inform me of what he considered to be the sources of disagreement.
“Well I must insist that Millicent is called by her name and it is not shortened to Milly, I am sure that you agree.”
Before I could offer an opinion Mr Kendrick continued his monologue.
“Furthermore I have instructed that Millicent must have her meals at precisely the designated hour. Any bad behaviour is to be punished with a sharp slap to her flank particularly if she does any toilet activity indoors.”
Without pausing for breath he also informed me that he had purchased a cage that was to be a designated punishment area.
I was struggling to comprehend what I was hearing. What planet had this fellow arrived from?
I waited patiently until he was finally finished.
“Sir, I am sorry but striking dogs is now a totally unacceptable way of dealing with problems, we have moved on from those methods.
Furthermore regarding toilet training, punishing your dog for doing it indoors is counterproductive and using a cage as a punishment device is cruel. A dog doesn’t have the capacity to understand what you are trying to achieve.
Maybe it would be a good idea if we discussed the matter with your wife in attendance.”
Mr Kendrick stared hard at me before retorting.
“I was under the impression that you are supposed to be a professional”
As my wife will confirm I have mellowed with the passing of the years, however, in my younger years when it came to verbal jousting and put-downs I was a master of the art. It wasn’t something I was proud of and I always felt that nothing had been achieved. So before replying in kind I tried to be reasonable.
“I can assure you any modern professional trainer or behaviourist will give you the same advice as me in that smacking a dog or taking a confrontational approach is wrong and will eventually lead to even more problems.”
The retort came swiftly.
“Let me tell you this I have had dogs all my life and I don’t need you or anybody else to tell me what is right or wrong. I only require your confirmation.”
I’d had enough.
“Sir I find your views on animal husbandry abhorrent, bordering on criminal. Honestly in my opinion you shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near an animal. Furthermore you are rude, condescending, and ignorant.”
The man looked at me and from his expression appeared to be shocked and was obviously struggling to formulate a reply. It was like watching a goldfish gulping as it swims around the bowl. No sound emerged. I doubt that he expected anyone to speak to him in this manner.
The sooner I was out of here the better. The visit had not taken me out of my way and had only been in the house for a few minutes. For this reason I decided that I would not insist on my fee being paid. I opened the door to leave only to find Mrs Kendrick on the other side wearing a beaming smile. Had she been listening?
She led me to the front door, turned and said.
“Don’t be alarmed Milly will be raised properly, as a puppy should be brought up. Make no mistake. Change is imminent.”
There was a steely look in her eye and the smile had disappeared.
This was one of the few occasions that I had not met the dog that was the object of the exercise.
I departed and whilst the matter preyed on my mind for some days as I weighed up what options that were open to me I felt that Mrs Kendricks parting words were enough to give me a degree of assurance that Milly the Westie was probably safe.
It was about 18 months later that I was on the same housing development and coincidentally just a few properties away from the Kendrick residence. I couldn’t help but notice that there were a few weeds sprouting in the flower beds, the lawn now showed brown circular patches and that immaculate appearance had now just slightly faded.
I was enjoying a chat and a cup of tea with my current client when through the window I saw Mrs Kendrick passing with a westie on the lead. Now I am not the quickest off the mark and the moment almost passed but I commented on the very smart appearance of what I presumed to be Milly.
“Oh yes, that is Doreen our neighbour with Milly. Lovely person.” There followed a brief silence.
“She used to have the most dreadful bloke of a husband but since she has got rid of him we have got to know her quite well.”
“Mmm, yes I did get to meet the fellow a while back. What happened to him.”
“We think Milly was the final straw. Doreen had persuaded Cyril to acquire a dog so that she could have some company as he was always working. She was happy to go down to the nearest shelter and take a stray but if course he had to go and get a pedigree dog. Bloody expensive!!
According to Doreen, Cyril appeared to be quite normal when they were courting but as soon as they were married his domineering, controlling, behaviour came to the fore.”
Basically, he was a nightmare.”
“So where is he now?”
“Well, it transpired that he hit Milly for peeing on the carpet.” “Doreen went ballistic, went to the kitchen, collected a frying pan, went to his office where there was this model ship that Cyril had spent two years building; flattened it with the pan and threatened to do the same to him. She then rang her solicitor and demanded a divorce.”
“She got the house, Milly and a large financial settlement. Basically, she took him for as much as she could. She was merciless, we gather her legal people were specialists in divorce.”
I smiled to myself as I remembered Mrs Kendricks words as I left her property a year and a half ago. She was correct, “change was imminent.”
I departed, having dealt with a minor problem and as I sat in my car I remembered the unpleasant episode.
I am a tolerant man and try never to take sides in what are essentially domestic disputes, however, on this occasion where the catalyst was the abusive behaviour to an animal my sympathies were entirely with the lady.
“Man is the only animal that knowingly inflicts pain on others.”
Anon
With subtitle or not?