I
have heard it said that in centuries past,
and
in some Chinese Dynasties (I’m not
certain
which ones they were, Shang, Chou,
Tang…?),
the Emperor kept a small dog
or
two with him in the palace, lap dogs if you
will.
These pups served as alarms to warn of
unwanted,
perhaps dangerous intruders. Not
that
they themselves would be an effective
deterrent,
per se, but could bark uproariously
should
a possible assassin approach. In turn,
the
small pooches would summon a larger more
powerful
and ferocious breed to come and de-
fend.
Funny though it seems in modern times
such
as these in the 21st Century and half-way
around
the world from Beijing, I sit comfortably
and
relatively safe in my throne-like recliner,
watching
ancient Chinese history on TV. The Em-
porer
is portrayed with two Pekingese nesting in
his
lap as they suddenly become excited and begin
to
bark. And the massive Chow Chows come a run-
ning,
growling and bearing their teeth. Now my
two
mutts, knowing nothing of history or portray-
als
of Chinese Dynaties on TV, are provoked by
the
kerfuffle, and commence with their aroused
chorus
of barking as well. And fearing the neighbors
will
be perturbed by the din of yapping commotion,
I
am forced to turn to the Home Improvement Chan-
nel
instead. The
rub here
is that my two pups
and I
live
in an
apartment
where
assassins are rare,
and we
have
no need for remodeling at
all.
Chris
Hanch 10-12-19
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