Although it may seem rather surprising, dogs actually stimulated and inspired their owners. This included in literature, and in the opera house. Sir Walter Scott was raised in Scotland around many dogs, and therefore developed an affinity for them. He kept many dogs himself, his favorite was Camp, a bull terrier who stayed by his side during his writing sessions. He couldn't write without them being around him! During his time, novels weren't too popular, but he wrote many novels anyway to support his family and his dogs. He wrote them autonomously, but eventually people noticed the similarities of the dogs in his stories to his many dogs; right down to his dog's personalities. When Camp died, his new writing partner became Maida, a wolfhound and deerhound cross. He died huddled around his pack of dogs.. In Germany, Richard Wilheim Wagner was a famous opera composer who wrote 13 full operas, many musical compositions, and 230 books/articles. He was exposed to dogs at a young age; he and his sister used to rescue unwanted puppies. He and his wife settled with either a English Toy Spaniel/Cavalier King Charles Spaniel they named Peps instead of kids; he 'Tannhauser and the Contest of Singers on the Wartburg' with and for Peps, because during his writing sessions, Peps had to be near, and he would play the piano to see Peps' reaction to the notes. After Peps, he received Fips (same breed as Peps), and later on, Pohl (Saint Hubert Hound), Kos (Fox Terrier), Russumuch or Russ (black Newfoundland), Branke (St. Bernard), and two Newfoundlands named Mollie and King Marke.
There were debates on whether or not dogs had an important role in the life of the inventor of the telephone (and a lot more other things such as the iron lung), Alexander Graham Bell. In his life, animals were a big part of it, owning horses, bobcats, eagles, snakes, sheep, and more. He understood the psychological value of dogs and would bring them with him to work. He used his Skye Terrier, to teach him how to talk, in order to prove a point about the importance of his father's theory of mouth and tongue movements. After training his dog, he was able to produce sounds that sounded like ''How are you, grandmama?'' (it came out as ow-ah-oo-ma-ma.) He was offered a job to teach deaf children, in which after the fifth session, the children uttered 'complete and intelligent' sentences. The children had wealthy parents, and some funded Bell for scientific purposes, which allowed him to design the first telephone, which sent the first electrical sound transmission over a wire on March 10, 1876.
Dogs are also a source of comfort, even in the therapist room. Coren had noticed that Eva, a woman in her 60s had her husband, old son and his wife, and their children killed in a car accident and needed some traumatic stress relieving. A Golden Retriever named Sandy was bought in and she immediately went to comfort the unmoving woman. After a short time, Eva started crying and talking about her dog named Goldie that was just like Sandy; Eva began to talk in each session in the presence of Sandy. Sigmund Frued was a neurologist whose encounter with a dog had influenced his psychoanalytic thinking. He went to Paris to study under Jean-Martin Charcot, who studied hysteria. Freud concluded that hysteria was a psychological, not a physical, problem. When he was in his 70s, he developed jaw cancer, and his daughter provided him with dogs for continuous companionship. His daughter was gifted a huge German Shepherd named Wolf, and he was gifted a Chow name Lun Yug who died too fast and was replaced with her sister, Joti. Later on, Frued would notice that the dogs present in the therapeutic room comforted both the psychoanalyst and the patient; this is especially with children/adolescence (he found this out with his oldest son and his dog, Joti). After his death and his works translated, people started recognizing his work and did some research about animals and etc.
Quote:
''Don Giovani: 'A bond of friendship unites us both...' ''(Coren 141).
Reaction:
I think that quote pretty much summarizes these few chapters because it's all about the companionship of famous authors, composers, researchers, and etc. And because dogs are born with a natural sense of loyalty, they are loyal to their owners, and not only do they provide therapeutic presence in the therapy room, but to their owners in their daily life too. They've gotten people through hardships and stay by them until their time was up. I find that very touching and yearn for a dog presence in my life too because of that bond of friendship as described above.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The PawPrints of History (Pg 1-80)
Summary:
In this historic novel, Stanley Coren argues that dogs have actually contributed to our history politically and socially. Although they were regarded as mere pets and haven't actually been credited in our history books, Coren gives many examples where dogs have actually aided their famous masters. Dogs have been known as protectors; in many stories, the dogs save their owners from danger, enabling them to achieve greater things in life (altering history!) For example, Alexander Pope was a famous poet who despite his small stature, owned a Great Dane named Bounce, who saved him from his new servant, who planned to kill him for his money. There was also similar stories of protective dogs in the Indian Story of Mik'Maq where Gisoolg (Great Spirit and Creater) created Earth, animals, men, and dogs to protect the men; Saint Giovanni Melchior Bosco, who was constantly targetted for his nonexistent wealth, but protected by a gray dog he named Grigio; and Prince of Orange, William I, who used dogs to protect his cities for attacks (they acted as alarms), in which 2000 years later, Napoleon followed suit by protecting Alexandria with dogs. Sometimes, dogs have been known to indirectly change history, for example, Florence Nightingale's first patient was a dog, and after healing the dog, she had a dream that made her realize her mission in life was to heal others.
Dogs have been traditionally known to be able to see evil approach, yet recognize sanity and truth. Their howling was often an omen of something bad. During the time of the Plague of Black Death, he traveled with his dog to the infected areas and his dog licked the spots of the infected, while he whispered prayers. They eventually healed, but he got sick, during which his dog took food from the village, and returned it to him. Dogs also offer companionship to their owners. In the example of Saint Margaret, her dog stayed by her when her lover died, and guided her to the church when she was rejected by her family members. There, she heard a voice tell her to seek absolution; she became the patron saint of the homeless and single mothers. Also, in the case of the famous St. Patrick, he had worked as a shepherd, formed bonds with dogs, and even tamed the wild dog in Ireland. Because of this brave act, he was given permission to establish a church in Ireland. He built his church on a hill after a dog with a white blaze--much like a cross stood on a hill. Italian greyhounds mended the wounded King Frederick II of Prussia throughout most of his life. He was abused as a child and had found companionship and solace in dogs. He had 35 dogs throughout his lifetime.
Some dogs were aggressive, but it's not usually their fault. It's the fault of the owner. Dogs are born with a sense of loyalty, not morality. When Columbus came to the New Worlds, one of his generals had bought 20 dogs with them during the Second Voyage. Those 20 dogs included the giant Mastiffs, and fast Greyhounds; Bartolome De Las Casas witnessed that they killed efficiently and had possibly developed a taste for human (Native's) blood. Columbus used this vicious method to claim Jamaica, Haiti, and Dominican Republic. Other conquistadors followed suit.
Quote:
''The more I see of men, the better I like my dog.'' (Coren 65).
Reaction:
I really like this quote because it showed that there are evils in the world of people, but dogs are always pure. Their intentions are always good, they listen to their owners without prejudice, and provide life long companionship for their owners.
In this historic novel, Stanley Coren argues that dogs have actually contributed to our history politically and socially. Although they were regarded as mere pets and haven't actually been credited in our history books, Coren gives many examples where dogs have actually aided their famous masters. Dogs have been known as protectors; in many stories, the dogs save their owners from danger, enabling them to achieve greater things in life (altering history!) For example, Alexander Pope was a famous poet who despite his small stature, owned a Great Dane named Bounce, who saved him from his new servant, who planned to kill him for his money. There was also similar stories of protective dogs in the Indian Story of Mik'Maq where Gisoolg (Great Spirit and Creater) created Earth, animals, men, and dogs to protect the men; Saint Giovanni Melchior Bosco, who was constantly targetted for his nonexistent wealth, but protected by a gray dog he named Grigio; and Prince of Orange, William I, who used dogs to protect his cities for attacks (they acted as alarms), in which 2000 years later, Napoleon followed suit by protecting Alexandria with dogs. Sometimes, dogs have been known to indirectly change history, for example, Florence Nightingale's first patient was a dog, and after healing the dog, she had a dream that made her realize her mission in life was to heal others.
Dogs have been traditionally known to be able to see evil approach, yet recognize sanity and truth. Their howling was often an omen of something bad. During the time of the Plague of Black Death, he traveled with his dog to the infected areas and his dog licked the spots of the infected, while he whispered prayers. They eventually healed, but he got sick, during which his dog took food from the village, and returned it to him. Dogs also offer companionship to their owners. In the example of Saint Margaret, her dog stayed by her when her lover died, and guided her to the church when she was rejected by her family members. There, she heard a voice tell her to seek absolution; she became the patron saint of the homeless and single mothers. Also, in the case of the famous St. Patrick, he had worked as a shepherd, formed bonds with dogs, and even tamed the wild dog in Ireland. Because of this brave act, he was given permission to establish a church in Ireland. He built his church on a hill after a dog with a white blaze--much like a cross stood on a hill. Italian greyhounds mended the wounded King Frederick II of Prussia throughout most of his life. He was abused as a child and had found companionship and solace in dogs. He had 35 dogs throughout his lifetime.
Some dogs were aggressive, but it's not usually their fault. It's the fault of the owner. Dogs are born with a sense of loyalty, not morality. When Columbus came to the New Worlds, one of his generals had bought 20 dogs with them during the Second Voyage. Those 20 dogs included the giant Mastiffs, and fast Greyhounds; Bartolome De Las Casas witnessed that they killed efficiently and had possibly developed a taste for human (Native's) blood. Columbus used this vicious method to claim Jamaica, Haiti, and Dominican Republic. Other conquistadors followed suit.
Quote:
''The more I see of men, the better I like my dog.'' (Coren 65).
Reaction:
I really like this quote because it showed that there are evils in the world of people, but dogs are always pure. Their intentions are always good, they listen to their owners without prejudice, and provide life long companionship for their owners.
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