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Post #29: Bark!

A note about Roo, and dogs - 

Rousimoff is my dog's full given name. I named him after Andre Rousimoff, who you will remember as the professional wrestler Andre the Giant. Andre was my favorite wrestler as a kid, and he had a guest starring role in one of my all-time favorite movies, The Princess Bride. Like Andre, my Roo is a gentle giant. He may weigh ninety pounds and stand on his hind legs at just over five feet, but he is a huge teddy bear. I'm not sure exactly what breeds constitute his mix: his coloring and tail are all German shepherd; his head is unmistakably retriever; his spotted black tongue seems to indicate Chow. He has a very gentle disposition. Everyone who meets him remarks on how chill and calm and friendly he is, and I take great pride in that.

Like all puppies and the people who adopt them, we went through our share of growing pains. Furniture lost to nascent teeth. Carpeting lost to untrained bowel and bladder. Patience lost to barks that signified I didn't know what. We had to feel each other out. We had to work on a routine. We had to socialize and train and re-train and re-socialize and train some more. Roo responds to hand signals now - sometimes, I don't even have to open my mouth.

He is more than a pet to me. I'm sure other dog owners feel the same way about their animals. They have such personality and they're with us for so long and they rely on us for so much. It's impossible to think of them as anything other than family.

Bajans do not feel the same way.
Bajans, as a rule, do not like dogs.
Bajans fear dogs.
Bajans avoid dogs.

You will see people, out for their morning walks, carrying long sticks (one guess what those sticks are for). Dogs are barely pets, and they most certainly are not family. Allowing a dog inside is a stretch. Allowing them on the furniture is a "never!" Allowing them up on your bed - what are you, insane?? On the island, the dogs that don't survive in the wild as stray scavengers are housed by families for one reason: security. These canines are alive only to guard and to attack. They do not see the insides of the houses they protect. Bajans own dogs like Americans own guns. On our walks in the morning, we pass a lot of houses that have dogs and each dog reacts the same way - by hurling themselves at the fence line and barking until they work up a lather at their jaws. These dogs are not friendly, and are not encouraged to be. 

Roo is super confused by this.

Roo has spent his whole life socializing with other dogs and people. We'd see the occasional pup who would puff themselves up with bravado barks and peacock snarling, but it didn't happen regularly. Here, it is an everyday occurrence. So Roo doesn't quite know what to make of it all. He is not used to the noise. He is not used to the idea that other dogs might not want to be friends. And like his papa, Roo greets the world by running headfirst into things with love pouring out of his eyes. He knows nothing else.

We have found some dog friends here. We have found quiet places to walk. It is not all snarls and growls and threats. It's just taken one hell of an adjustment. I used to think America had the market cornered on barking like mad. Not so any more.

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