Man's Best Friend

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I know I’ve brought this up before. But it bears repeating, because it is so true. Please read:

Man’s Best Friend.

'Gentlemen of the jury: The best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.

'Gentlemen of the jury: A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

‘If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death.’

George Graham Vest closing arguments to the jury, 1870.

Well, I assume you all agree. So I just have to ask, Is there anyone who disagrees?

:slight_smile:

EDIT: BTW it says I last shared this in 2008. I think it’s time for a reboot :slight_smile: .

2

My wife’s dog now loves me more than her. She (the dog) also loves bacon and popcorn more than anything else. A dog’s loyalty is a lot less limitless than what Vest claims.

3

Well… gonna touch the third rail here. I’m gonna punk dogs:

Those stories about the dog returning to the train station @5pm to meet his master? Well, these stories tend to ignore (a) dogs are social creatures who like routine, and (b) the dog was going about his daily foraging routine where people… knowing the story… would make sure he had food along the way.

People: ‘Oh, that’s Roger’s dog. Let’s feed the poor thing, he keeps coming back for Roger. Isn’t a dogs love wonderful?’ :cupid:

Dog: ‘Oh, good, one of my regular sources of food and companionship. Glad that guy who disappeared showed me this place! Game face: ON’

People: ‘He always looks so sad! He must have loved Roger fierce and misses him terribly. Let me give him the rest of my Big Mac…’

4

Well, I would just add, when I was a kid, there was a story of a dog that chewed thru a door to save a baby during a fire. But I don’t need a cite anyway. Stories like that are ubiquitous.

And it is ironic someone brought up food. Sure, for one moment, a treat might seem like the most important thing to your dog. But even in the wild, loyalty to the pack takes precedent to food–and always will.

But as I said, I am interested in people who take the opposite view too. We’ve all heard the pro. :slight_smile:

5

Cats are better.

6

I think it’s somewhere in between what Vest claims and what @JohnT posted.

I don’t disagree with anything John posted, but at the same time, we’ve all seen those reunion videos where the dog goes crazy after not seeing their human for extended periods of time. These are dogs that were well cared for in their human’s absence, yet they are still elated to see their human return. Which suggests to me there is at least some kind of bond going on there.

7

So, who or what exactly was on trial, that Vest chose to make his closing arguments a paean to doghood?

8

@Chronos The death of Old Drum (just scroll down [a little]). :slight_smile:

EDIT: They don’t go into too much detail in link I gave. But basically a civil case, where the dog was negligently killed, and the owner was seeking damages. It was the first case of its kind.

Vest was a powerful orator. Not to hijack my own thread, but so was Thurgood Marshall IMHO. :slight_smile:

9

Dogs are great, cats are great, snakes, fish and rabbits are all great.

People are shit.

10

Unless lured away by a visitor offering a hot dog.

Dogs are fond of and usually very loyal to their pack leaders, but ones demonstrating extraordinary acts of selflessness are…pretty unusual.

11

Your cynicism notwithstanding, some dogs are extremely loyal and attached to their humans. The bond between human and dog in fact goes both ways.

My Bernese Mountain Dog, Bernie, now departed over the rainbow bridge, was objectively highly intelligent, but very attached to me and my son. Bernese are said to bond with their owners for life, and have difficulty establishing new relationships. I saw the evidence of this first-hand just on the matter of going for walks. Bernie absolutely loved going for walks, and especially going to play in the park. But my son or I were the only ones he would go with. When I tried to hire a dog walker, he absolutely refused to go with her, even though she was experienced with dogs and did her best to coax him. The best she was able to do was take him about half a block. He returned home with the leash in his mouth, leading her to the door. We tried several times, with the same result. And that was the end of the hired dog-walker experiment.

12

Yeah, we’re on opposite sides on the fence on this subject. :dog:

13

Yeah, we’re in agreement on the bit you quoted, but not bits that you said but that you didn’t quote, like:

I already described how Bernie would refuse to let anyone walk him except me or my son. I didn’t mention another trait he had: he would refuse to take treats from anyone but us.

The argument that some dogs can be bribed is rather weak when you realize that a great many humans can be bribed, too, and perhaps more easily, since a dog’s loyalty often exceeds that of most human relationships excepting perhaps only that between a parent and their child.

14

Loyalty can be overrated.

Bubba, one of our Cavalier King Charles spaniels was, true to his breed a very affectionate dog, and while I like to think he saved special devotion for us, he was also a friend to mankind and quick to ingratiate himself with everyone he met. Once we left him off at a new kennel prior to going on a trip. As we exited the driveway we checked to see if Bubba was anxiously looking in our direction. Instead, he was mooning up at and cuddling with the woman who ran the kennel.

Like your Bernie but in a totally different way, Bubba was a dog among dogs.

*I am fond of dogs in general. I don’t worship them though.

15

Some cat lover Vest didn’t give a shit about, probably.

16

BTW some person on another message board told a joke illustrating why dogs are more loyal than, say, your wife (in the joke). It was really a propos and they had no problem with it on the other message board.

But some here might find the joke a little misogynistic. How do I find if I can post it here :slight_smile: ?

17

I assume it’s the standard joke about locking your dog and your wife in a car for the afternoon and see which is happier to see you when you let them out? It’s not a big deal, pretty mild.

18

Dogs were put here to show us that love has nothing to do with sex.

19

Oh, your monkhood or whatever is the proper form of address (probably not Your Monkeyness), pray for us. It’s your job. :slight_smile:

20

@Telemark Bingo! But remember mods, he said it. I didn’t. :slight_smile: