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Author unknown
There is a deadly disease stalking your dog, a hideous, stealthy
thing just waiting its chance to steal your beloved friend. It is
not a new disease, or one for which there are inoculations. The
disease is called "Trust".
You knew before you ever took your puppy home that it could not
be trusted. The breeder who provided you with this precious animal
warned you, drummed it into your head. Puppies steal, destroy anything
expensive left in their path, chase cats, take forever to house train,
and must never be allowed off lead!!
When the big day finally arrived, heeding the sage advice of the
breeder, you escorted your puppy to his new home, properly collared
and tagged, the lead held tightly in your hand.
At home, the house was "puppy-proofed". Everything of value was
stored in the spare bedroom, garbage stowed on top of the
refrigerator. Cats separated, and a gate placed across the living
room to keep at least one part of the house puddle free. All the
windows and doors had been properly secured, and signs placed in all
strategic points reminding all to "Close the door!"
Soon it becomes second nature to make sure the door closes nine
tenths of a second after it was opened and that it is really latched.
"Don't let the dog out" is your second most verbalized expression.
(The first is "NO!") You worry and fuss constantly, terrified that your
darling will get out and disaster will surely follow.
Your friends comment about who you love most, your family or the dog.
You know that to relax your vigil for a moment might lose him to you
forever.
And so the weeks and months pass, with your puppy becoming more
civilized every day, and the seeds of trust are planted. It seems that
each new day brings less destruction, less breakage, less leakage.
Almost before you know it, your clumsy, wild puppy has turned into an
elegant, dignified friend.
Now that he is a more reliable, sedate companion, you take him more
places. No longer does he chew the steering wheel when left in the
car. And darned if that cake wasn't still on the table this
morning. And, oh yes, wasn't that the cat he was sleeping with so
cozily on your pillow last night?
At this point you are beginning to become infected, the disease is
spreading its roots deep into your mind.
And then one of your friends suggest obedience classes, and, after a
time, you even let him run loose from the car into the house when
you get home. Why not, he always runs straight to the door, dancing a
frenzy of joy and waits to be let in. And, remember he comes every
time he is called. You know he is the exception that disproves the
rule. (And sometimes late at night, you even let him slip out the
front door to go potty and then right back in.)
Years pass-it is hard to remember why you ever worried so much
when he was a puppy. He would never think of running out the door
left open while you bring in the packages from the car. It would be
beneath his dignity to jump out the window of the car while you run
into the convenience store. And when you take him for those wonderful
long walks at dawn, it only takes one whistle to send him racing back
to you in a burst of speed when the walk becomes too close to the
highway. He still gets in the garbage cans, but nobody is perfect!)
This is the time the disease has waited for so patiently. Sometimes it
only has to wait a year or two, but often it takes much longer.
He spies the neighbor dog across the street, and suddenly forgets
everything he ever knew about not slipping outdoors, jumping out
windows or coming when called due to traffic. Perhaps it was only a
paper fluttering in the breeze, a squirrel, a passerby, or even just
the sheer joy of running....
Stopped in an instant. Stilled forever- your heart is broken at
the sight of his still beautiful body.
The disease is trust. The final outcome, hit by a car.
Every morning my dog bounced around off lead exploring. Every
morning for seven years he came back when he was called. He was
perfectly obedient, perfectly trustworthy. He died fourteen hours
after being hit by a car. Please do not risk your friend and your
heart.
Save the trust for things that do not matter.
Please read this every year on your puppy's birthday, lest we forget.
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