Living With Trauma 16

"The more people I meet, the better I like my dog." Remember that bumper sticker? It was very popular around thirty years ago or so. Remember Sartre's little maxim: "Hell is other people?" Wow! If Homo Sapiens is really that bad, then is it any wonder that so many of our species would prefer the love of their own personal Canus Domesticus? That a semi-carnivorous scavenger that will not turn its nose up at eating poo or vomit, sniffs bums, picks up fleas and unless bathed frequently, stinks to high heaven, would be preferred over our lovely human species for love and companionship? Well, even though humans aren't known to eat poo or vomit, we won't go into where some of us will put our noses, with or without consent, and as far as smelling bad goes, try to go without bathing for one week then see how many people will cross over to the other side of the street just to avoid smelling you. Dogs can bite and kill. Humans are very good at killing with whatever means available. We have also become so thoroughly adept at treating one another like garbage, is it any wonder that so many people are turning to their dogs and cats for the kind of unconditional love and friendship that we really ought to be giving and receiving from one another? What's happened to us, anyway, Gentle Reader? I used to judge quite harshly this burgeoning culture of dog-idolatry. Now I can only wince with sadness that this is something we, through our refusal to really love and care for one another, have brought on ourselves. Is it any wonder that here in Yaletown, arguably the most unfriendly neighbourhood in Vancouver, that we have so many people with dogs? In postage stamp size condos in big towers all crowded together, creating conditions not exactly friendly to dogs, but nevertheless their poor needy and lovesick humans will force their furry babies to endure this kind of hyper-urban environment, completely unnatural to them and hostile to the needs of any dog or cat, if only to be sure that they can have their steady supply of unconditional love on tap. These people are so needy and starved for love that it would never occur to them in a million years how cruelly they are emotionally exploiting their dogs. This is a perfect manifestation of collective trauma. This is the collective howl, or should I say whimper, of the chronically unloved. The dogs and cats are really more like hostages, since it is impossible to have an equal relationship with a pet. No matter how much we wrap our minds around the notion that they are our children, members of the family, they really have no say in the matter. They have usually been purchased, though some have been adopted or rescued, and they know where the kibble is coming from. Of course they are going to love their humans unconditionally, since their survival is going to depend on it, and being dumb beasts, they aren't really going to be considering options. They are a captive audience, and yes they do therapeutic marvels in the undeserved love that they pour out on their human masters. I have heard it said that having and loving an animal can often make us better and kinder people. I believe this could be true. However, when you consider the time, care and expense that is required in properly looking after a pet, especially a dog, I don't expect that too many of their humans, after a hard long day at work, are going to have a lot of spare time left over for volunteering at the food bank or the local homeless shelter or community kitchen. Let's face it: a lot of dog owners are so in need of getting the love from their pets that just isn't available from families, spouses or close friends, that they often aren't going to be that interested in paying the love forward to needy humans. Especially men, who compared to women, tend to be despicably selfish. I don't think that there is any coincidence that our steep rise in homelessness has occurred in tandem with this growing trend in idolatrizing pets. Animals are less complex, easier to control and generally much more grateful than human beings. But we are still human beings, and we still owe to one another the kind of love that many of us would prefer to lavish on a four-legged scavenger that shits indiscriminately and pees on everything. This is not to diss dogs, by the way. With the exception of pit bulls and other dangerous breeds I am quite fond of dogs though I relate more naturally to cats. But if many of us are to make our dogs the centre of our lives, then we can only hope and pray that the unconditional love that they show us will eventually bear some fruit as we begin paying it forward to our less fortunate sisters and brothers who are languishing and dying on the sidewalks while begging for alms of spare change or food.