*winklepickers

Amnesty International

I wrote this a while back.

My son had found and brought up some stray puppies.
One little female in particular had bad health. He looked after her but later she died of a generalized infection.
He was very shaken.

The day after she died he found another little brown dog which was in very bad shape.

He still has her.

This is what I thought at that time.

"A special thought for Doggy Dog and Whiny.

I do hope they are enjoying life. It can’t have been very joyous around Mohamed Drive recently. I wonder if they feel something in the atmosphere. Who can tell?
Sharmeen said that Twiggy used to sleep on her head when she was miserable in bed.
How can we know just how much dogs feel? I wouldn’t say they understand, but feel of course. They grieve when they lose their owner, but do they sense our feelings? Do they read our body language and interpret the tone of our voices? They know when we speak to them but does our own talk or lack of it affect them, however intelligent they are?
We can’t get into their head, even less than into another human’s head.

Back to Little Brown Doggy.

If this little creature was treated badly, perhaps by children, she will remember. It would be wise to be very wary with her and in her presence once she is better. No sudden gestures. Dogs can bite if they feel in danger because of a memory. Children shouldn’t play with her as they can be rough, even unintentionally.
Maybe this warning is unnecessary but I think about it. She may be quiet because she is cowed by fear. I haven’t seen her so I can’t know. I don’t know if I could tell. It is just a hypothesis and Sharmeen thought the same thing. Little Vichy goes around with her ears back and acts in a submissive way because of Twiggy’s authority over her but when she can, because she is feeling excited, she attacks Twiggy to try her luck.
We are another dog to dogs aren’t we? Ah well. No real problem, just food for thought. Good luck to them all."


He now has five dogs and nine cats. I've mentioned it before I know.