This morning I was able to manage to operate a camera with one hand and no-the-usual-fingers on the other.
Not too bad. Camera steady. Reasonable framing.
And when we got back home, I pulled Big Camera out of the safe (yes, since the burglary several years ago, most of the camera and computer equipment spends its free time in a nice,heavy safe bolted into the concrete floor downstairs). It took a few seconds to test out how to use this larger and heavier camera, but I quickly found that it won’t be too bad. I actually went ahead and took enough pics for tomorrow’s Feline Friday, so do not fear!
Now, to the folks trying to draw inappropriate analogies between canine lower brainstem misbehavior and complex international relations between nation states…are you really suggesting that last week’s dog incident on the beach illustrates anything useful about how the behavior of our government or that of other countries is shaped? You are marching into strange territory there. Do you realize how far fetched the analogy is?
And, by the way, I deleted the comments suggesting weapons I could have used to end the attack.
In this case, I knew both the Big Dog and the Small Dog. I consider both among that group of Kaaawa morning dogs we have developed relationships with. I intervened in an attempt to stop the attack without further injury to either. Big Dog didn’t attack me or intentionally bite me. I perhaps was less careful in my attempt to intervene than I should have been, but it was intense and the action was moving at a faster pace than my rational thinking.
In the end, we were very lucky. The dogs were separated. Both dogs are alive. Small Dog is recovering. My hand will also recover. I learned a bit, and hopefully Big Dog’s person did as well.
A big stick or even a knife may simply have escalated the level of violence and we all could have ended in much worse shape. We tend to assume that kicking it up the macho scale will offer a more effective defense. Not necessarily so. In general, I seriously doubt that proposition.
So, deep breath. Tomorrow is Friday.
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the brainstem is the shared ancestry with have with reptiles and is considered the reptilian part of the brain (the fight or flight center of the brain, fear based responses)… what we share with canines and other mammals (in addition to our common reptilian heritage) is the limbic system (the emotional/empathetic center of the brain)… so i think the labeling of the brainstem as canine part of the brain is not right, in the first place.
obviously i’m not a neuro scientist. i’m just trying to refer to that “zone” that this Big Dog was in, which wasn’t rational, and was driven on what appears to be a very deep instinctual level. I’m sure many people will understand what i’m referring to here. Whether technically correct or not, the “lower brainstem” image captures the idea.
perhaps i need to refer to the “lower brainstem-like” response state….I’ve been asking about the technical term for this state, and haven’t located any info yet.
I think ‘da kine’ would do nicely for the technical term. BTW, I’m really glad you weren’t hurt more severely.
Thanks for your blog.
I agree – owners need to be aware of their dog’s tendencies even if 19 times out of 20 nothing happens – my dog is always on his leash and if any hint of danger – we go the other way.
Heightened tensions between cat and dog lovers has elevated to extreme levels due to terrible dog attacks against humans! Tension along the border is ready to explode. Terrorist packs of drooling beasts may unleash teeth. Let’s seek world wide pet peace.
Regarding Syria, those were questions I asked to get Reality Bites to say explicitly what he had only implied. They were not rhetorical.
FWIW, my views are close to those expressed by Dan Boylan in a recent Mid-Week piece, “Obama Handicapped by a Tin Ear”: http://www.midweek.com/obama-handicapped-by-a-tin-ear/
You raise an interesting question about the appropriate level of response to the situation in which you found yourself. Until I owned a cat, I would never have thought about killing an animal that attacked a cat, but I think that were my cat attacked, an atavistic surge would compel me to destroy whatever was attacking it. Owning a cat hasn’t made me a vegetarian yet–which would be a paradox since cats are obligate carnivores–but it has certainly heightened my sensitivity to the human responsibility to care for animals. You are to be commended for the proportionality of your response; have you pondered whether it would have been the same if Meda had been the victim instead?
Ian, it doesn’t matter whether or not you are friends with the Bigger Dog. The Bigger Dog should probably be destroyed. (Relax, I said “probably,” which leaves some wiggle room. The dog needs a specialist to give it a temperament/aggression assessment.)
I’m a dog lover. I grew up with dogs. I’ve trained many dogs, including the one I have now. No matter how close we are, they are animals, and if there’s a serious, known risk of unprovoked attack combined with refusal to listen to command, the owner needs to take that very seriously. And so do you.
Cats are indeed carnivores as evidenced by the pile of feathers I found on my front lawn two days ago and the partially devoured rat I found on my front porch this morning. Dogs are also carnivores but the attack Ian was involved in was almost certainly not caused by hunger. More likely the attack caused by territoriality. Big Dog saw Small Dog as an intruder and instinctively attacked the other dog invading his territory. (Is Romeo still guarding HIS territory or would he if permitted?) This is not an unreasonable metaphor for, on a more sophisticated level, for what goes on between nation states. One nation sees another nation as intruding on it’s territory, or interests, triggering growling, displays of teeth and sometimes an all out fight. Then you need a third party (the UN?) to separate the combatants before someone gets really hurt.