Anna Cooke,
editorunleashed
“If you don't like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.” – Maya Angelou
The word “dog” has been used universally for centuries to describe a darker side of life. It’s one of those ironies, though, since dogs bring such happiness to our lives. Maybe that wasn’t the case in ancient
Persia when someone penned the proverb, “Dogs may bark, but the caravan moves on.” During those times, dogs were definitely not held in high regard. Even today, under the new leadership of Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, there is a fine line between forbidden and tolerated when it comes to dogs. In fact, literally walking one’s dog in Iran is considered a symbol of resistance. The proverb itself, loosely translated,
means that the progress of the world will not be altered by people who only complain. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Life goes on. C’est la vie. Those phrases all make far more sense to me, rather than vilifying a dog in a quote to justify life’s inequities or society’s apathy. As a criticism on society, Norm
Petersen of Cheers’ fame once said, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, Woody, and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear.” Okay, I get it. Life is tough. But, kill or
be killed? Actually, the original phrase from which this colloquialism is derived (Canis canem non est), translates to something that means quite the opposite: A dog does not eat another dog. Perhaps the Latin phrase was coined by a Crusader in the aftermath of a religious bloody battle, upon witnessing the ravishes of war: You don’t kick a man while he’s down. When someone describes a woman or
a man as being “a dog,” rest assured, this is not a compliment. Although, why would anyone suggest that a dog is unattractive or a scoundrel, for that matter? You would think that, as a society, with our ability to love such a diverse species as dogs, (in addition to our acceptance of their oftentimes less than stellar manners) we would be more accepting of people. Their religion, their country of origin, their politics – even in how an individual or a group of individuals runs a business. Or a shelter. To act phony is to “put on the dog.”
And yet, I really don’t know of any dog that acts phony, necessitating such a derisive description. A phony dog? That sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?
6 THE NEW BARKER To “die a dog’s death,” means to die in
a bad way. Its origin is in reference to a dog in a dog fight: the dog will fight to the end. To most people, this is not a pleasant sight, nor sound. Although, professional football comes pretty close to a dogfight, especially now that a lot of the players are miked, so we can get the essence of the game’s violence. Have you heard the sounds those guys make? The sport is glorified during the season with catchy theme songs, glimmering lights, dancing women and talking heads. Winston Churchill had his “black dog,”
and he was not referring to his pet. It was a term he used to describe his depression. With all due respect to those suffering from this horrible disease, perhaps the compan- ionship of an actual black dog would have been somewhat beneficial to Sir Winston’s health and well-being. A winner is a “top dog,” while an
underrated individual might be referred to as an “underdog.” Leading a “dog’s life” is presumably not a happy one, although I beg to differ when I look at my own dogs’ lives. A book that’s not in good shape is dog-
eared - but how can that be a bad thing? My dogs’ ears are beautiful, whether they’re up, down, moving forward, even dripping wet and dragging water around the house after enjoying a sip from the water bowl. When the aforementioned phrases
were created, maybe they provided justifica- tion for the ruthless and selfish behavior of humankind. Dogs are far more cooperative than competitive. They certainly are not ruthless or selfish. We seem to enjoy affirming our behavior by making it parallel with that of dogs. That’s not fair to dogs. Maybe it’s just time to change our
behavior, and our attitudes. U
Anna with Zoe, Chloe, Dougie and Rita by Laura Allen Studios.
www.TheNewBarker.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112