One of my favorite anthropological theories is that dogs and humans formed such a perfect partnership that dogs may have played an important role in making human civilization possible. Dogs and humans coevolved symbiotically: they became superb hunting partners, with dogs chasing and tracking prey and humans finishing the hunt with weapons. Dogs also guarded camps and livestock in exchange for food and companionship, helping humans protect the larger settlements and animal herds civilization eventually depended on.
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In the past few days, three stories reminded me that this ancient bargain still holds. While two ended tragically, one, which is actually a few years old, has a happy ending.
The first dog story, from Thursday, is about Cassie, an incredibly brave French bulldog (those loving, smiling dogs) who saved her humans from a bear attack:
A beloved French bulldog was attempting to protect its owners from a bear in Trinity County when the wild animal attacked last weekend.
Jeff and Mallory Wilson were seriously injured by the bear outside their rural Northern California home on September 19. Their French bulldog, Cassie, did not survive.
Mallory told KRON4 Thursday, “Jeff followed our 7-year-old French bulldog, Cassie, outside and was attacked by a bear. Cassie immediately came to his defense, putting herself between Jeff and the bear. I came outside after hearing screaming and was also attacked before any of us had time to understand what was happening.”
[snip]
“Cassie was never meant to be a guard dog,” Mallory said. “She was a beloved indoor lapdog, and we are heartbroken that she ever had to be in the position to fight for her life. We believe her actions helped save our lives.”
Cassie knew down to the deepest strands of DNA what her responsibilities were. She didn’t think, argue with herself, or negotiate; she acted and, sadly, met her end. What a good dog.
Also on the West Coast, Kylo, a police K-9, died during a gun battle on Thursday while chasing a murder suspect in Portland:
Kylo, a police dog for the Portland Police Bureau, was killed on Thursday when gunfire broke out as cops and the US Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force tried to cuff a suspect near the Chestnut Tree Inn in Portland.
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[snip]
The suspect was running from authorities when the “officer-involved shooting” unfolded. He was hit with gunfire and, despite life-saving efforts, died at the scene.
Kylo was also injured in the barrage of bullets on his last scheduled shift before retirement.
The adorable K-9 who worked for the bureau for six years was rushed to a veterinary medical center, where he tragically died. (Emphasis mine.)
Without knowing more about the murder suspect, I’m not going to shed tears for him. But how awful and ironic that, on the verge of a safe and comfortable retirement, poor Kylo met his end. But he was a good dog, doing his duty and living according to doggy rules.
We’ll end this story with a bad dog who is thriving thanks to his manifestly illegal activities. Indeed, he’s such a naughty dog that I’m almost embarrassed to include him in this post. Nevertheless, he’s also being true to his DNA. It seems that, in Wyandotte, Michigan, a certain miscreant—an officer!—has been stealing from his colleagues. Yes. It pains me to say that, but it’s true. And while the story is a few years old, it has suddenly hit the national news, and I think we can all learn a lesson from it:
The post continues:
…was called to assist with a person in the WPD jail. He quickly jumped into service, leaving his half eaten lunch on the table. A short while later Barwig and another officer returned to the breakroom only to find Ofc. Ice leisurely strolling out of the room licking his chops. Barwig’s entire lunch was gone….disappeared, vanished!
Ofc. Ice has invoked his fifth amendment right to remain silent and quite frankly is not cooperating with the investigation. He has a history of rummaging through trash cans that are within his reach. There have been several other accusations of him taking food right from coworker’s hands as they walk by.
WPD will consider our Facebook followers opinions on how to proceed with this investigation.
It pains me to say this, but the commenters did not take Ofc. Ice’s crimes seriously, commenting only on the fact that a fool and his food are soon parted, that Ice was too cute to have done anything wrong, and that the whole thing was clearly a set-up. Yes, even in the dog world, too many Americans lose their moral compass.
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(And yes, it’s been a bit of a slow news day…)
Image created using AI.