I
have two dogs, small dogs, you know,
the
feisty kind who bark at strangers and
noises
which arise suddenly. The elder is
a
Chihuahua, and at age seventeen for the
most
part he prefers to nap and eat, with
regular
intervals set aside to poop and pee.
The
younger, a Maltese/poodle mix, is by
far
more rambunctious. Most of her day is
spent
as a guard dog watching TV with
me.
She barks incessantly at every dog,
cat,
horse, antelope and hippopotamus
she
sees on the big screen. I can no longer
watch
nature shows or wilderness adven-
tures
knowing a bear or puma, a raccoon
or
river otter is more than likely to appear.
She
charges them pawing and barking at
their
images with a deep and sincere fer-
osity.
And the commercials, have you
noticed,
not only the pet care ones, but
most
advertisers feature typical American
family
scenes with dogs and cats included?
The
frequency with which 4-legged creatures
infest
and command the airwaves is a pro-
found
annoyance to me. I have tried over
and
over again to convince my pup, it’s all
just
a two-dimensional representation, an
audio/visual
simulation, an electronically
transmitted
stream of hyperbole, merely
a
facsimile of reality, not a living, breathing,
flesh-and-blood
threat to our personal
security.
As for me personally, I am repulsed
by
the reprehensible human behavior I see
all
too often portrayed on TV. Much of it is
a
bunch of bull crap raising my hackles and
promoting
some sneering and barking on my
part.
Makes one sorry they missed out on the
heyday
of radio. From what I’ve been told,
back
then both family and pets were comfy
cozy
napping or listening intently to FDR’s
weekly
Fireside Chats to inspire not agitate.
And
even that was when a war was ongoing.
Chris
Hanch 9-10-18
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