Summary: Dogs as Reliable Companions

Topic Content:

• Topic: Dogs as Reliable Companions
• Text: New Oxford Secondary English Course for SSS2 pages 38 – 39
• Questions and Answers

‘The more I consider the behaviour of man, the more I respect my dog,’ so says a sage. The sage admired the faithfulness of the dog which stands in sharp contrast to man’s unfaithfulness. Once a friend, the dog never betrays that bond of loyalty. Through thick and thin, he remains ever-trusting, consistently loving. When you put this against man’s readiness to call it quits when it suits him, you cannot but share the sentiments held by the sage.

     A dog’s friendliness with man manifests even more when we consider the ferocity with which he attacks other quadrupeds. like most carnivores, he hunts other animals but unlike others, he hunts not for himself but for man. To please his friends, he sets himself against his brothers. In this respect, his services to man excel those of other domestic animals. The cow donates milk, the pig its meat, the sheep its fleece, the horse its strength in bearing burdens—the cat hunts solely for itself. Only the dog pleases man by displeasing his brothers.

     He even wages man’s war against man’s enemies, the criminals. Skilled as a hunter, with a sharp sense of smell, he develops as a natural detective, able to sniff out who and where the members of the underworld are. In the hands of the police, he undergoes a rigorous training that makes him an asset in fighting crime. Again, during wars, highly trained dogs are used to go ahead of an advancing battalion, spying to find out whether or not the enemy soldiers are near. Somehow, they report backto the commanding officer.

     At home, his hunting instincts are exploitedTo use someone or something unfairly for your own advantage. More to advantage. Kept outside at night, he guards the door, warding off thieves and other suspicious elements. In the process, he might end up paying with his life, though more often he brings down the culprit with his fangs.

     While not primarily a beast of burden, he could be used for transportation. In the very cold regions of the world, where there is perpetually a carpet of snow, the dog proves a successful means of transport where other beasts fail. Polar explorers have used dog trains to pull sledges which glide smoothly on ice. One explorer, Captain Scott, who tried to use horses rather than dogs failed disastrously. Most of his animals died, so his men rendered immobile, followed suit. He thus failed to be the first man to reach the South Pole.

Adapted from WASSCE NOV/DEC. 1997