This week's topic for Illustration Friday is
Ferocious.
I usually don't post about personal things...other than my artwork ;) but this topic really got me thinking about a dog we had, and had to give up. He is a big shepherd, border collie mix of some sort, with a cock-eyed floppy ear and markings like a dairy cow. He is goofy, smart and has way more energy than I could ever imagine one dog could have. He was quite the contrast to our old, blind-in one-eye dobie-shepherd mix--not to mention the cats. The short of it is, I couldn't handle him. He had a whopping case of leash aggression, so I spent walks trying to hold my ground and keep him under control. Walking him with our other dog (who still has quite the pull for an old guy), felt like I was driving an out of control stage coach. As he matured, he got more and more protective. Then...he bit our neighbor. Fortunately she's a good friend and an unbelievably gracious person, or an already bad situation would have been much, much worse. I witnessed the whole thing, and I can say with great certainty, his behavior at that moment was utterly
ferocious. So we sadly surrendered him to a local humane society (no kill facility).
My hope is that, by now, he is running around somewhere on the other side of the mountains, chasing sheep!
We do miss him. His is a good dog-- ferocious...but good.
This is a little portrait drawing I did of him for last year's holiday card. Sigh.
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| copyright 2010 E R Stanton |
