The Man did not want to walk as he had spent the entire week walking. Furthermore, The Man was concerned about the safety of The Lady if she was alone on an isolated walking route The Lady, however, had spent the week indoors and sitting down and wanted to go for a walk. The Dog needless to say was quite happy to do both. This had the potential for a turbulent domestic situation. The irresistible force/immovable object kind.
The Man, with the wisdom of Solomon, came up with a solution. He would train The Dog to protect The Lady thus ensuring that she was safe when she was out walking on the coastal footpath. This compromise was a perfect solution. The Man would drive to a spot on the coastal path, drop The Lady and The Dog off, drive a few miles further, find a spot with a view, where with his Sunday paper and flask of tea The Man could enjoy a blissful couple of hours reading, drinking tea and solitary musing. Harmony was preserved as The Lady and The Dog enjoyed a carefree walk.
The Dog had been acquired from the local RSPCA shelter. The Man had been looking for a canine companion to work with and came across The Dog. There were plenty of others to choose from including a number of German Shepherd Dogs. There were so many beautiful animals in perfect condition but The Man had been very specific in his requirements and only one dog fitted his needs. She had the basic shape of Shepherd but her ears had a tendency to droop when her concentration lapsed, she looked somewhat cross-eyed and her feet were too big. She had been badly neglected as a puppy, had slightly deformed paws which she dragged giving her an ungainly shuffling gait. The Man, fortunately, was experienced and recognised the potential of The Dog. They rapidly developed a rapport so strong that The Man and The Dog almost had a telepathic understanding.
Without The Man in attendance, The Dog always stayed close to The Lady. The coastal path can be remote in places but The Man was confident that The Dog would protect her mistress. It appeared that if anyone passed The Lady on the path and kept going, that was fine but if anyone lingered then The Dog became agitated. It was plain to anyone with nefarious intentions that to mess with The Lady would bring retribution in the form of a very large, hairy, black dog with attitude.
This is where curiously the behaviour of The Dog departed from the norm. When The Dog was with The Man and The Lady together or with The Man by himself The Dog would happily wander off to a considerable distance away where she would play, swim and track rabbits occasionally loping back to check that all was well and everybody was behaving themselves. It was a different matter if for any reason The Man and The Lady became separated then The Dog shot straight to her side and guarded the lady with her life. She considered anything that comes too close as potentially a danger and went into protective mode. All The Dog lacked was the requisite shades and the earpiece. She was a veritable Kevin Costner.
It became quite obvious that The Dog did not consider that The Man needed protecting despite the fact that The Man had trained The Dog. The Man took the view that The Dogs attitude was that The Man was top dog or (Alpha dog to use the modern terminology!) and didn’t need protection.
Recently I wrote a story entitled “How a lady’s mind works.”
Well, it obviously doesn’t stop with humans!!
We are often told it is a man’s world. I guarantee you that anyone would have struggled to convince The Dog.
She knew exactly whose world it was!!
And how do I know that every word is true?
The Lady is Joy and I am The Man.
“The love of all living creatures is the most noble attribute of men.”
Charles Darwin
With subtitle or not?