Tino
>> Monday, July 30, 2007
My boss has a dog he brings to work. Actually, it's a chihuahua, so "dog" doesn't really apply to this critter. His name is Valentino, which is the same horrible name as our apt manager's dog as well, and he is more irritable and cranky than Pippin on his worst day.
However, sometimes he gets into this amazing happy dog mood. He really wanted to play with Dean (my boss) and was hopping around, wanting attention, and being playful. Dean doesn't have time today to play around, so he kept telling him to get down and go away. Dean's mom Fay (the flower arranger) practically screams in farsi at this dog whenever he moves.
I think it's sad that they want him to sit down or lay down in his bed all day long and wait while they're working. 9am - 6pm, they encourage him to hop in bed and sit still. Of course they periodically walk him, but how utterly ridiculous to think that this living breathing animal is something you can turn on and off, play with when you want and sit idle until you're ready again. Maybe that's why Tino gets into foul moods, his poor owners never give him enough attention.
I keep thinking about myself, how i treat animals like family members, and how shocked i was to see dogs being treated with a "whatever" attitude in latino neighborhoods. When i remember the times of the hawaiians, the native americans, it's easy to see that even now that separation between man and beast is so evident. It leads me to ponder many things... whether our love for animals stems from more advanced brain function, more sense of self, community, emotion, the endless waves of animal rights, the boredom of society, etc etc etc.
I'd like to think that i love my cat because i'm smart, but i can't deny that i think banality has something to do with it.
