Dogs Have Jobs in the Community While Cats Sleep
Dogs have been domesticated as pets forever; we even refer to them as “man’s best friend”.However, they can be so much more than that. Dogs can also be “man’s best helper” in everyday tasks, especially in dangerous or catastrophic situations where man’s abilities are limited or restricted. Let’s look at some of those situations where working dogs are indispensable. As for working cats, we’ll look at that a little later in this essay.
Police Dogs As Working Dogs
In North America, many major cities have a K9 unit (K9 is a play on the English word canine) where dogs and their police officer trainers work closely together to form a team. Dogs and trainers undergo extensive and lengthy training together before being put to work. The dogs will even live with the trainer’s family as part of their family.
Police officers consider police dogs to be police officers too. In some countries, it is a criminal offence to harm or kill a police dog. The most common breed of dog to train as a police dog has traditionally been a German Shepherd. Police dogs are crucial to police work in two specific areas. Those areas are apprehension and detection.
Apprehension of a suspect can turn into an extremely dangerous situation very quickly. In these types of situations, the police dog may be the critical force in apprehending a fleeing criminal suspect and also in protecting the life of his human partner. K9 units choose prospective police dogs based on their stable temperament, physical strength, ability, and willingness to follow the orders of their handlers.
Police also utilize dogs in detection work. Due to their keen sense of smell, they can be trained to sniff out drugs and may be seen doing just that at airports or land border crossings. They have been trained to detect other things, such as explosives, accelerants in arson cases, and even landmines. Police dogs are indispensable in crime detection and law enforcement.
Search and Rescue Dogs
Search and Rescue dogs are working dogs crucial to saving lives in times of disaster. Natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, tornados, or wildfires usually happen without warning. Mother Nature does not allow time to prepare. Man-made disasters, such as mountaineers or skiers becoming lost or unprepared for the weather conditions, also occur without warning. When disaster strikes, time is of the essence. If the rescue effort doesn’t begin quickly, it will soon become a recovery effort. The dogs must get to the scene as quickly as possible.
The dogs can detect human scent in collapsed buildings or even under snow or water. Finding people in trouble is the working dog’s job and is the first step before the rescue can begin. The dogs are sometimes even trained to comfort the trapped or injured until help arrives.
Guard Dogs as Working Dogs
Here, I’m referring to dogs that guard businesses. I remember many years ago when all the auto wreckers had high fences and guard dogs fondly referred to as “junkyard dogs”. If you went anywhere near the fence, the dog would go into a wild frenzy like it wanted to rip your face off. This scene is vividly portrayed in the 1986 movie Stand by Me, based on Stephen King’s novella, The Body, one of four in his book Different Seasons.
These dogs are chosen based on intimidation factors, aggressive behaviour, loud barking, showing of teeth, and just plain nastiness. Fitting this profile are Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, and Rottweilers. By law, owners must post warning signs to protect the public from these potentially dangerous or deadly animals.
Guide Dogs, Service Dogs, and Therapy Dogs
Now, this is a fairly broad category. Guide dogs are used to help the blind or visually impaired. They help their owners with mobility within the community, such as crossing at traffic lights or when it is safe to cross the road. Service dogs assist those with other physical impairments, such as significant hearing loss. Therapy dogs aid people with mental health conditions like PTSD or other anxiety issues. These dogs must be gentle to give their owners the comfort they need, especially during times of emotional distress.
Herding Dogs
These working dogs help farmers and ranchers control, guide, and herd their livestock. The recipients of this herding are usually sheep or cattle. The dogs who do this work are motivated by modified predatory behaviour. Centuries ago, wild dogs would chase down these animals and kill them for food.
There are two kinds of herding dogs. Heelers nip at the heels of the animals they are herding to guide them in the right direction. Headers lead the herd from the front. Dog breeds chosen for this type of work are usually collies and corgis.
Working Cats
Now, there’s an oxymoron. A cat is chronically unemployed. It lays around all day and prowls the neighbourhood all night, looking for trouble or adventure. Its drunken howling awakens and annoys the neighbours from a sound sleep. (Sorry. Perhaps I was thinking of my Uncle Billy on one of his alcohol-fueled adventures.) Anyway, what is the purpose of a cat? It seems that the only thing it has going for it is its cuteness. Unfortunately, cuteness won’t carry it through when it becomes old and wrinkled.
There’s a Cat in My House!
About a year and a half ago, my daughter purchased a cute Russian Blue kitten after having two little dogs for many years. I expected it to be blue, but it is black. She named him Beryl. I don’t know where she got the name, but it sounds like the name of a grandmother in a 60s British TV comedy series. Anyway, as they do, that cute kitten has become a cat. Now, a pet is a pet is a pet. Not! They say, “A dog has a master, and a cat has staff.” It’s absolutely true.
Dogs are loyal and usually do as they’re told. Cats do whatever they damn well please. He’s a house cat, so he doesn’t bother the neighbours. His daily routine is to sleep all day and wander the house all night. When I get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, as older people often do, I have to open the door with the light still on so I don’t step on or trip over a black cat in the dark.
He has an expensive, several-story cat tree with a scratching post. However, the scratching post is not to his liking. When he needs to file his claws, he chooses the furniture. When he’s tired of scratching the furniture on the main floor, he goes downstairs and scratches some furniture down there.
Anyway, he’s fun to play with for a half hour before bedtime (mine, that is), and he has a personality of his own, so he’s okay with me, even though he has an old lady’s name.
Disclaimer
I intend no offence toward cat enablers in this short essay. However, their beloved furry friend could at least get some part-time work to help with the vet bills for injuries obtained when a rogue gang of raccoons almost captured it. Or how about the time you had to clean out the tomato juice shelf at the supermarket when it tried to make friends with a not-so-friendly skunk? Come on, guys. Wake up!
And Now For Your Listening Enjoyment
Here is Pattie Page’s 1952 hit How Much Is That Doggie in the Window.
The above essay is for entertainment and English language study only. For suggestions on how to use this post to improve your English reading and listening comprehension, click here.
Vocabulary
- domesticated – adjective; (of an animal or plant) kept by humans for work, food, or companionship; not wild; for the use of people
- catastrophic – adjective; great and sudden disaster; causing great damage or many dead people
- indispensable – adjective; not to be set aside; can’t do without
- canine – adjective; of or belonging to the family Canidae, including dogs, wolves, foxes, etc. of the dog family
- extensive – adjective; having a wide scope; far-reaching; very detailed and complete
- crucial – adjective; decisive critical; very important; very important
- apprehension – noun; arrest, capture; catch or capture
- detection – noun; the act or instance of detecting; the work of a detective; find something
- temperament – noun; a creative or spirited personality; one’s personality; how they act or behave
- accelerants – noun; a substance used to aid the spread of fire; something to make a fire burn faster
- frenzy – noun; wild excitement or agitation; crazy-like behaviour
- intimidation – noun; fright or fear; words or actions to make you afraid
- impaired – adjective; disabled, handicapped; unable to do some normal things because of injury or birth defect
- mobility – noun; the ability to move or be moved freely or easily; to be able to move around freely
- recipient – noun; a person who receives something; someone who receives something
- predatory – adjective; (of an animal) preying naturally on others; need of an animal to kill another animal
- oxymoron – noun; a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction; two things that can’t both be true at the same time
- chronically – adverb; habitually; always
- disclaimer – noun; a renunciation or disavowal, esp. of responsibility; not my fault, I don’t really mean it
Comprehension Questions
- Cats are known as “man’s best friend”.
True or False? - What is the meaning of K9?
(a) an apartment number, (b) a vitamin, (c) of the dog family, or (d) a grade in university - The most common breed of dog to train as a police dog is a ____________ .
(a) Poodle, (b) Chihuahua, (c) Cocker Spaniel, or (d) German Shepherd. - Name two kinds of natural disasters.
- Are dogs chosen to be guard dogs to guard businesses because they are friendly?
Yes or No? - Are dogs chosen to be therapy dogs because they are gentle and friendly?
Yes or No? - What are the best dog breeds for herding dogs?
(a) Poodles and Chihuahuas, (b) Collies and Corgis, (c) Siberian Huskies and Great Danes, or (d) Doberman Pinschers and Rottweilers - Are you a “dog person” or a “cat person”?
Resources
- American Kennel Club – What Do K-9 Police Dogs Do?
- Wikipedia – Police Dog
- Wikipedia – Search and Rescue Dog
- Best Paw Forward Dog Training
- Wikipedia – Herding Dog
