At 5am this morning, a wolfish creature stood next to my bed. Still half-asleep, I sensed it's presence, blocking out the breaking dawn.
The creature opened its mouth and dropped a wet, perforated ball on my bed. This was his invitation for me to trade the comfort of my bed for the joys of throwing a ball around for him to fetch. And repeat the process twenty times over, until his doggy limbs were tired of mindlessly chasing a ball. I didn't expect an 8-month old dog to be as demanding as a little child. Babysitting a dog is a repetitive cycle of feed him, clean up after him, play with him, entertain him, chase away stray dogs looking for a fight, watch him closely so he doesn't eat the dining table!
One of the adventure comics I grew up on was Lee Falk's, The Phantom. The costumed crime fighter lived in a jungle cave filled with treasure and a tree-house palace. He has a horse named Hero and a trained wolf, Devil. Devoid of supernatural powers, the Phantom, aka - the ghost who walks, relies on his intelligence and strength to protect the natives of Bangalla, a fictional country in Africa.
My childhood fantasy was to own a German Shepherd called Devil and a horse called Hero. This morning, I realised that my canine buddy has a long way to go before he can tackle even a candy thief. He really is the friendliest German Shepherd I know.
The creature opened its mouth and dropped a wet, perforated ball on my bed. This was his invitation for me to trade the comfort of my bed for the joys of throwing a ball around for him to fetch. And repeat the process twenty times over, until his doggy limbs were tired of mindlessly chasing a ball. I didn't expect an 8-month old dog to be as demanding as a little child. Babysitting a dog is a repetitive cycle of feed him, clean up after him, play with him, entertain him, chase away stray dogs looking for a fight, watch him closely so he doesn't eat the dining table!
One of the adventure comics I grew up on was Lee Falk's, The Phantom. The costumed crime fighter lived in a jungle cave filled with treasure and a tree-house palace. He has a horse named Hero and a trained wolf, Devil. Devoid of supernatural powers, the Phantom, aka - the ghost who walks, relies on his intelligence and strength to protect the natives of Bangalla, a fictional country in Africa.
My childhood fantasy was to own a German Shepherd called Devil and a horse called Hero. This morning, I realised that my canine buddy has a long way to go before he can tackle even a candy thief. He really is the friendliest German Shepherd I know.