Would I be a dog?

Press, 5 December 1989, Page 12

Would I be a dog?

By

HAMISH RHODES

Standard 5

If you had to be another animal I would wonder what you would be. If I had to choose I would choose very carefully. My favourite choices would be a dolphin or a dog, but if I thought about these two animals more I would favour being a dog. So my final decision would be a dog. You ask, “Why a dog?” First, I love dogs and most dog owners take good care of their dog otherwise they wouldn’t adopt a pet. Most dogs are loved a lot and if I was a dog I would love to be loved. Every dog has 'a place to sleep which is warm and they have shelter. ' . ... . Secondly you ask, “What sort of dog?” I would have to. think very carefully about this question, but again, I

would come down to two choices. Those two choices would be a Cavalier King Charles or a Labrador. I would choose a Labrador because their hair is neither short nor long but just in the middle. Longhaired dogs get too dirty but short-haired dogs look ugly. Labrador hair is soft and thick and beautiful.

You ask, “Why be a dog with all those disadvantages such as all the scrap food and being smacked when naughty and being locked away and so on and so on?” Even those disadvantages would not put me off being a dog because if you get locked up you will go for a run when your owner does and that will get rid of all your energy. If the food is bad it will not be bad for me because that is what dogs eat. If I was smacked I

would not get hurt if I had a good owner because a good owner smacks his dog not to hurt him but to teach him not to do something. If I was locked up for the night I would have a nice warm bed to sleep in if I had a good owner.

You ask, “What are the advantages?” This question depends entirely on the owner. If I had a good owner I would have a warm place to sleep, a blanket, and shelter. I could ride in the car. I could go to the beach and have a run. I could play games with my owner. My owner would feed me and love me. If I had a bad owner there would not be so many advantages.

So if I had to be another animal I would be a dog with a good owner who would LET ME COME INSIDE AND SIT BY THE FIRE!