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Have you ever noticed how long the shadow your dog casts is? Mine measures approximately 10,000 kilometers in length, which is not at all surprising considering that my dog's height, from the ground to the back, is 25 centimeters (okay, yes, I admit he's "short-legged"). And yours... how long is your dog's shadow? To measure it, you have to add several parameters: his level of love, his level of loyalty, his faithfulness and patience, and his level of adaptation to your daily human customs.
In reality, the physical height the canine reaches is irrelevant because, as you can see, what it actually projects are other immaterial aspects. I have seen projections that reach infinity, such as the shadow cast by Nus, a beautiful and loyal Kerry Blue Terrier, or that of the loving and anxious Trufa, cinnamon-colored with amber eyes, or the one projected by Blue, a huge German Shepherd puppy whose heart bursts out of his mouth; not to mention Blaqui, a Boxer who was born with urinary problems thanks (unfortunately) to the cursed black market for dogs, and whom a person I admire, along with the invaluable help of her family, managed to rescue. To speak of Mel, a big honey-colored mixed breed with matching eyes who lived in a shelter (blessed shelters), is to speak of a new opportunity full of love for her and for her adoptive family. And I cannot forget the extraordinary pair made by Edi (a good-natured brindle bull, who if he stands on his hind legs surpasses me in height) with Rocki Balboa, a Maltese Toy Bichon who barely weighs a kilo and a half. Some, like Dogui, a 13-year-old Marilín, continue to accompany their family's adventures with infinite patience (the latest has been sharing a garden with a tricolor bunny named Iris).
In our current pets, little remains of their ancestor, the wolf (30,000 years ago). Thousands of years of 'companionship' and manipulation are a lot until they become the best and most faithful companions, always attentive to our gaze.Thousands of names fill our daily lives with their stories, Lila, Turco, Bob, Owen, Bugui, Paolo, Lolita, Pepe, Ulises, Dinga, Snow… and leave an indelible mark on our hearts when they leave us. They say that the world is dominated by all those who do not know how to manage their emotions and that, for this reason, they need to feel powerful. Whether we know how to manage ourselves or not, what most of us need is to connect with the purity of feelings that emanate from these furry beings who, today, have a lot of genetic manipulation, responding to the taste of our, surely absurd, historical whims (we want them rounder or taller or longer or smaller or stronger or furrier…).
In our current pets, little remains of their ancestor, the wolf (30,000 years ago). Thousands of years of "companionship" and manipulation are a lot until they become the best and most faithful companions, always attentive to our gaze. Serviceable to the core, in exchange for rewards and with exhaustive training, professionals dedicated to training them have managed to make many of them the eyes of blind people, or magnificent trackers, or the best rescuers of accident victims. Famous real and fictional dogs are part of our history: White Fang (Jack London's wolf), Laika (the most famous dog that someone couldn't think of anything better than sending to space), Lindo Pulgoso (from Sweet Granny, by Hanna-Barbera), Patán (by Pierre Nodoyuna), Zero (Tim Burton's ghost dog), Troylo (by Antonio Gala), Snoopy (Charlie Brown's Beagle), Milú (Tintin's Fox Terrier)... Today, thousands of photos of dogs appear daily, filling social networks. Some, like Jimmy (a white Bull Terrier), by Rafael Mantesso, have managed to unleash the artistic creativity of their owners.
For those who do not know the artist Sally Muir, I recommend her book A Dog a Day, Editorial Gustavo Gili, S.L., 1st ed. (2018), which she herself introduces with this phrase: "This book is dedicated to my humans, to show them that I don't prefer dogs" and in which she pictorially recreates the character of a lot of dogs she has met throughout her life.
And the data sings, or barks in this case: there are more than 400 million dogs in the world. In 2017 in Barcelona, one dog was identified for every ten citizens. More than 350 different breeds. The first fossil remains of dogs buried with humans date back 14,000 years. These figures reiterate the significant importance these beings have for us, humans. They fascinate us with their sense of smell, capable of distinguishing odors separately (which is why they are capable of gobbling up the piece of pâté with which the deworming pill of the day is camouflaged, and, of course, spitting it out), with their surveillance capacity thanks to their acute hearing (20 muscles they use to move their ears) and with their ability to hear many more sounds than us. The latest research has managed to decipher the meaning of tail movement as a language of their behavior.
Also capable, along with babies, of making us smile with their antics. And who doesn't benefit from a little warmth, affection, and unconditional friendship? Perhaps many of us wonder if we will ever be able to project our shadow beyond the shadow our dogs project!
Meow! (this will be for the next chapter)... I mean: Woof!