Yesterday I was waiting for someone to come to the door. Their dog was barking at me from the open window. Since it was smaller than my shoe, I wasn’t worried. The neighbor’s two dogs, much bigger, were acting like the neighborhood alarm clocks next door. Since they were behind a strong fence, I wasn’t worried. Since I wasn’t worried I had time to be irritated. I started asking myself, “Why can’t those dogs lose their voices?” Really, who ever heard of a dog going hoarse from barking too much?
The voice of my Original Sin whispered that it would be fun to go over and torment them to see how loud and long they could bark. The voice of my inner scientist told me it could be a chance to put the scientific method to the test. The coward in me screamed, “What if the owner opens the gate!” Being a Christian and wanting to be kind and gracious, I listened to the coward.
But the question remains. Why can dogs bark all night and feel no pain? I guess we could also ask how our neighbors wife can talk all day and feel no pain? Notice I am talking about my neighbor’s wife since I would know nothing about this personally.
Maybe dogs feel the pain but instinct overrules it. I have heard of horses being ridden until they drop. If it doesn’t kill them it makes them useless to ride. A human would stop and refuse to go any further. This could be a mark of the image of God that is built into people. We don’t just react by instinct. We have instincts. They prompt us. But we also have a mind, an intellect. We have a sense of right and wrong. We are not dogs.
That still doesn’t answer my question, but tomorrow is another day.
homo unius libri
Mules, also, have some common sense. That's why they won't founder themselves on rich feed or do things that they feel endanger themselves. For having brains (or good instincts), man calls them "stubborn." I certainly wouldn't say that they were made in God's image, though they might come closer than some people seem to come. This was a pretty good post until I came along; wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteYou must understand. I am a city boy. The only experience I have with mules is going to the county fair and wondering what those funny looking horses were.
ReplyDeleteI am more than willing to bow to your wisdom in this area. Now if you want to talk about rush hour traffic...
Grace and peace.