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Friday, September 4, 2015

And Also the Phone

Yesterday, when Bow was napping after breakfast, the calm and quiet of our world was shattered by an alarm raised by the two dogs, Brownie and Leo, concerning an intruder. Now this was not  the usual barking, like when a squirrel passes over the backyard on a tree branch, and Leo just can't let that go. It was not like the barking when an occasional deer or rabbit get too close to the house. This was serious stuff. This was a real intruder. I got Bow's permission to go out and investigate.


The rays of the rising sun obscured the dog, but there it was, and its presence was infuriating Leo and Brownie. If anyone tells you that property rights are just a human invention, think about how attuned dogs are to the crime of trespass. If you think that dogs don't understand boundaries and property rights, ask yourself why intruders, including dirty cops, always kill the dog first.


I was willing to find out more about this stray dog, but it was too scared to stay. Then when I went back in, I found that Bow had been so upset about this whole thing, he had overturned his potty. After we went through the entire discipline and cleanup routine, I asked Bow why. Why did he act out, when on many other occasions he allowed me to go outside and stay much longer? Was it just because there was a stray dog out there? He answered yes, but then he added. "וגם הטלפון." --"And also the phone."

It turns out that the phone rang while I was out there. Bow could have tolerated a stray dog. He could have tolerated the phone ringing. But having the phone ring and ring while I was out there dealing with a stray dog, that was intolerable!

2 comments:

  1. My sister cannot stand the noise my phone makes. When I got the smart phone last year I decided to send all my social media updates from friends to it, so this way I could work and monitor blogs when I am not home. The problem is the phone chimes quite frequently when someone responds to me on Facebook or Twitter. Even when the phone's volume is turned down, there is not way to disable the chime sound. It is a flaw of this phone. I literally cannot leave the phone in the living room, or she will complain about the chimes. My childhood dogs used to also get upset when certain people walked by the fence. We found out from another neighbor that a boy was harassing our dogs with a whistle and a stick to make one bark on purpose. It was not very nice at all. These people had nothing better to do with their time.

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    1. Phones that ring all the time are really a problem, because the ring is like an alarm. It is meant to get our attention. and that is okay if the phone only rings once in a blue moon, but not if it rings all the time.That is why I am on the no-call list, have an unlisted number, and ask friends and family to call at only specific times.

      It is very cruel to tease dogs who are in a fenced yard and cannot get back at you. This is true whether the one teasing them is a human or another dog. I appreciate the neighbor dog, Cowboy, because even when he comes on my land, he does not tease my dogs.

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