Dog-on-wheel (paralyzed hind legs)
Errand dog, at home
Talking dogs, Agoo LU
How do you make your pet dog happy?
“Make these dogs happy,” I told a group
of schoolchildren who were taking art lessons from me. I gave each of them a copy of a trace drawing
of a pair of dogs. The dogs looked sad,
docile and there is something pathetic about them.
With pastel coloring instrument they
accepted the assignment. In their young
minds I saw their pets at home. As I
studied the expressions on their faces, matched with their actions I noticed
they were not only coloring their pets,
they we virtually “caring for their pets.”
And what do you think they did with these
animals? How kind are these children to
them? How good are
they as masters or friends – as pets? These are the things I gathered from
their drawings.
Unchain the dogs – A young participant made
a drawing of a chain being sawed off in order to free the dogs. Truly there is
nothing more important than freedom, even for an animal. This is also true with
animals. Aren’t zoos today moved to bigger spaces where the habitats of the
animals are simulated? In the African
Safari tourists are taken out, caged in
their vehicles, while the animals roam free.
Build a doghouse – Keep them from heat and
cold. Give them a sense of security and
comfort. Give the doghouse some art and
a bit of aesthetic sense. The house is a status symbol but its functional
features are foremost.
Provide a shade – A tree beside the
doghouse is a magnificent scene:
a bird’s nest atop, bridling and parent singing at
feeding time, ripe fruits hang, a kite is stuck up on a branch, a boy climbs to
retrieve it, leaves fall and form a litter on which the dogs lay. These and many more, which the children drew,
revive the childhood to every viewer of their art works.
Give them bone – If there is anything a
dog is associated with, it is a big bone.
Aesop saw it fitting for a fable, a lesson about greed. For the dog however, it is a form of
security, as well as a plaything. Be sure you give your pet food, fresh water
and proper nutrition. Do not overfeed them.
Play with them, give a plaything – I found out that many of
my pupils drew themselves beside or playing with their pets. Others drew cats and mice playing with their
dogs. Playing is universal among
animals, tame or in the wild. Others
raced with them on the meadow.
Groom them – Regularly bathe and comb them. Several
drawings showed the dogs in attire, one in a circus outfit, another in casual
wear, one eating on Chinaware. This is not rare because we often think of animal
as human beings. Read “Animal Farm” by
George Orwell. Or see the movie,
“Babe.” Aesop’s fables are about animals
that think like human beings – or it could be the other way around, as Aesop
wanted to drive a point, quite often a painful lesson. Aesop was silenced because he was unwittingly
hurting people with his fable.
Teach them tricks and discipline – A ball, a stick, an
electronic gadget to open or close the doghouse, are among the things the young
participants included in their drawings. There’s a saying, “You can’t teach an
old dog new tricks.” But children always
see their pets young. This means they are growing up together, and
sharing new tricks.
Vaccinate your dog – A participant drew a
veterinarian administering an
anti-rabies shot on his young pet.
Precaution is always important, because catching rabies is dangerous.
Who are
these children mirrored by their drawings?
And who will they be through the keyhole of their imagination? How we
regard our pets is what we are and become.
“A
starving dog at his master’s gate predicts the ruin of the state,” thus William
Blake in “Auguries of Innocence” tells us.
I, for one, would gladly meet with confidence and ease the master of a
contented and happy dog.
The art
workshop for children in which I used the dog as an exercise to demonstrate
love for animals may be a simple way of changing attitudes and developing
values. Children are known to be very effective in carrying out the multiplier
effect of a lesson and we hope that they will carry this as they grow.
“Make
these dogs happy,” could mean a thousand dogs in the future, and a thousand
enlightened children who follow the footsteps of those who unchained the dog,
built a doghouse, gave a bone and, altogether, made the world a kinder one. ~ x x x
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