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Dog’s Eye View: Let there be peace

Sandra Kruczek/For Steamboat Pilot & Today

Diversity.  It’s what makes our world so rich and beautiful. Looking through a smaller lens, I’m thinking of the world of dogs.  Here we are in another Christmas season with yet more reasons to be thankful for all of our real, live canine gifts.

There are lots to choose from.  The American Kennel Club alone has well over a hundred different breeds of dogs in their registry.  The United Kennel Club has more. There are countless registries out there for dogs that have specialized jobs.

Then there are the just plain dogs like my little terrier mix, Lawrence, whose DNA runs the gamut of a few breeds of dogs in his makeup to those dogs of diverse and unknown origin.



We love them all but there are some dogs that cause me to scratch my head in wonder.  One is a little mixed terrier pup that captured the heart of a whole city, Albany, New York, then the whole world.  His name is Owney and he was discovered in a railroad station, snuggled amid large cloth sacks of mail. He was adopted by the postal workers.

The year was 1888. The mail was primarily carried by train and then handed off to small town postal carriers. One time when Owney was riding on a local postal delivery wagon, a large sack of mail fell off of the wagon.  He jumped off and barked until the drivers stopped to pick up the sack.  The mail got delivered thanks to Owney’s vigilance. 



The postal employees fashioned a collar for him so people would know where he belonged.  Ultimately Owney accompanied the mail across the country, then by ship to foreign lands. 

Warm hearted fans began putting dog tags on his collar so that people would know where he had been.  In time, his harness was so full that he resembled a highly decorated  five star general.  Check out his picture and story online.

There are so many beautiful stories about dogs and people helping each other.  I recently saw a program where different breeds of dogs, often German shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Labrador retrievers are used to sniff out illegal drugs in vehicles as they pass through major borders. 

The job is intense and must be accomplished quickly.  The dogs are walked briskly by their handlers down the line of hundreds of vehicles. A nose is the tool that is used to uphold the laws of the land.  These dogs are super sniffers. 

One Belgian Malinois alone sniffed out over a million and a half dollars worth of heroin carefully concealed inside a pickup truck that was destined for the streets of the United States.

Aren’t we the lucky ones?  There are dogs to suit each one of us, our needs, passions and interests.  There’s no need to fuss about which one is better than the other. 

They’re out there, in all their diversity.  We can rest in the knowledge that our dog is the embodiment of our own dreams and efforts.  Let there be peace.

Sandra Kruczek is certified professional dog trainer at Total Teamwork Training with more than 30 years of experience.


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