The other day, I heard someone say, “Dogs are not people.” The longer I pondered on those four words, I realized just how true they really are.
As a journalist, I run into some gut-wrenching topics that aren’t enjoyable to write about. Unfortunately, when it comes to news, we can’t shy away or hide from the articles that make us uncomfortable, no matter how badly we may want to. Handling crime content for the Courier means I often find myself sifting through a stack of papers about unthinkable things – accused child predators, physical and sexual assaults, home burglaries, deaths, drug busts – you get the picture.
Recently, though, I encountered one of the most challenging story lines to hit my desk in nearly seven years. When the owner of a local grooming business was accused of being physically aggressive with a dog at her shop – an incident that was caught on video and quickly went viral – people were understandably outraged. Sick to my stomach, I wondered how I – a known animal lover and pet owner, and someone who couldn’t even make it through watching this video – was going to manage to write about it.
Despite some of the troubling things I cover almost daily on auto pilot, this one hit me like a brick, as I thought about my own dog at home who is the biggest form of love and light in my life, my best friend. I couldn’t help but put myself in this dog owner’s shoes and feel such sadness and anger for her and her beloved Charlie.
Setting my feelings aside the best I could, the article was written and published, giving a view of both sides of the story. What I didn’t expect were some of the comments and reactions from people I encounter every day. I was overhearing them say things like, “Dogs are not people,” insinuating that the four-legged friends who do nothing but show us unconditional love, compassion and understanding don’t deserve the same treatment in return.
No surprise, I had a couple of people check on me after they read the article. I ended up confiding in a friend about some of the discouraging things I had heard and seen that day; her response was thought provoking. We often hear the phrase, “What is wrong with people?” Never once, she said, has she heard someone say, “What is wrong with dogs?”
This got me thinking about the abundance of papers I read through on a regular basis that have me constantly asking that same question – “What IS wrong with people?”
When the job was done, I left work in tears, shaking and in disbelief during the drive home that people can feel such a way toward animals, people I know and people I don’t. I hugged my dog for a good long while that day, who of course greeted me with a wagging tail and a big panting smile. We went for our daily walk, a breath of fresh air. I thought of all the other dogs I encounter who always greet me the same way – without hesitation, without judgement, without any inkling of disrespect – continuously restoring my faith that the world isn’t so bad after all.
My friend was right. I know I’ll never find myself saying, “What is wrong with dogs?” But, I can guarantee I’ll say it about people – probably today, tomorrow and the next day, time and time again.
When I heard the phrase “Dogs are not people,” it was something I absorbed in a negative way. I was offended, I was sad, I was angry. But, I’ve chosen to view it differently, because yes – dogs are not people; they never will be. And for that, we should all be incredibly grateful. I know I am.
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