LIFE FROM A DOG'S VIEW ....
THE INTRODUCTION
I was just sitting on my own, minding my own business o, then that witch that calls herself my owner came. She only remembers me when it’s time to shoot a scene. Her assistants feed me only when I’m on set, but when I am at home, I dig in trashcans and sometimes steal from the neighbours. Mostly, my friends share some of their scraps with me, that’s why I’m still alive.
As I was saying, Do came and just dragged me by my dog collar and said, “Enter the car, stupid dog. Your days are numbered. You think you can just come from nowhere and steal the spotlight from me? I’ve been working for years and you just swept all the attention from me in a day? We’ll see about that.”
Let me make you understand the whole story.
My name is Zuhrah Atiyah Johnson. People call me Zuhrah, which means brightness, because of my bright nature. My real name is Atiyah, which means gift. I’m a one-year-old dog. I’m a cross between a retriever and a German shepherd. Retrievers and German shepherds are breeds of dogs. I’m very big for my age, and I’ve a very remarkable sense of smell. My fur is black with patches of brown and white.
A few months ago, I wandered too far away from home. I was just a puppy, in fact I’m still a puppy; I‘m simply bigger than how I was. My home is in a village that is a few kilometres from Accra. I always wanted to be a big girl; to be able to go anywhere without my parents’ eagle eyes watching me every second, because I’m the only female among four puppies. They took particular interest in me, and would always make sure I was where my brothers were. I went too far away from home and then the reality dawned on me that I didn’t actually know anywhere except my house. I was hungry and it started raining, so I had to hide somewhere and get something to eat. I continued on my journey to nowhere with the hope that I would pick up a particularly familiar scent that would lead me straight home. I found nothing.
Almost a week after getting lost, I saw a van loaded with some fruits. My dog instincts told me to sneak into the van so that it could probably take me home, and I could also nibble on some fruits along the way. How naïve I was! The van took me further away from home and into the heart of the hustle and bustle of Accra. I was so scared and alone and full of guilt and regret. I missed my parents and brothers. Long story short, I manoeuvred, escaped, ran and stole my way to the gate of a huge house. I was cold, wet, dirty, and was really starving. A woman came out of the gate and saw me in my pitiful state. I looked up at her and with all the strength left in me, I used the superpower that every dog possesses: doggy eyes with the occasional soft cries. Her name is Do. She took me in, gave me food and asked someone to bathe me and wrap me in some blankets. I was so happy that I jumped on her and started licking her face, just like a happy dog would do. I started learning some tricks and spending time with my new owner. She had no idea of what to call me, so she took me to the studio where she worked to show me to her colleagues. Do was an actress, and at the time she was shooting a movie. That day, the director was very nice to me as he gave me dog biscuits and played with me. I also showed him some of the tricks I could do; sitting, lying down, smelling hidden things and understanding many words both in English and Akan. He liked the way happiness and animation was radiating in me and he suddenly said, “Zuhrah is a perfect name for you.” Everyone around was impressed by me, and they agreed that my name would be Zuhrah.
Over the next few weeks, the love and attention I was getting only grew. I also started acting with Do. People loved movies I acted in, and soon I became a star dog. I soon forgot about my family and previous owners, and was living the life of a television dog. Some days ago, Do started changing towards me. She was no longer the loving owner that she used to be. She got angry at the tiniest mention of my name, she didn’t feed me, she didn’t play with me and it felt like my owner had suddenly been replaced overnight by an unsmiling witch. At this point in time, I’d also made friends both in the neighbourhood and in the studio. My co-star dogs, Bingo and Charles, were very good friends that made sure I never went hungry when I was in the studio. At home, Kwame, the chicken next door, and Kofi, the cat who lived in the garbage dump were my pals.
Do even stopped taking me to the vet, and since I went out a lot, I was soon covered in fleas and ticks, and I was always scratching myself. Each passing day gave me more and more reasons to be regretful about me leaving home in the first place. My only consolation were my friends that continued to egg me on and tell me that Do probably was going through some stress and was going to be the caring owner I used to have. I knew they were just saying that to stop me from running away. You’re probably wondering why my friends aren’t all dogs. You see, we dogs are very special animals. We have a very sensitive sense of smell that can pick up a scent that is so low in concentration that a human would never have perceived it in the first place; we can be trained to detect health complications by changes in the smell of your breath; we can form ‘unlikely’ friendships with all kinds of animals; we’re very intelligent and can do a wide variety of entertaining tricks; we’re very loyal and faithful to those who show us love, that’s why it’s often said that when you feed a dog for three days, he’ll remember you for three years. Dogs can also feel emotions, in fact, a lot of animals do. Dogs can feel sad, happy, and lonely; can be provoked to anger; can perceive if you’re being honest or not; can perceive expressions of love towards them and a host of other kinds of feelings.
At the beginning, my ultimate goal was to be able to go anywhere I wanted and do anything I please. Now, just look at where the pursuit of that goal landed me. When Do turned her back on me, I started to ask myself what I really wanted for myself. I discovered what I wanted was what every dog needs; in fact, what every animal needs: to be loved and to be understood. I wanted these so bad, and Do’s attitude just made me want to yearn the more for what I wanted. I wanted one more thing; to see my family again.
I hope you reading this will make you also reassess yourself to know what you really need from what you want. Most importantly, I hope you learn to treat your pet better, or at least start treating animals around you better, even if you don’t want a pet. Stop throwing stones at them, stop indiscriminately killing them, and stop hurting their feelings. Just stop maltreating animals. It makes them trust human beings less. Think about it. What would you do if you were an animal and people treat you the same way you treat animals? Would you be heartbroken? Would you be happy? The way you feel is the way those animals feel. They might not be as sophisticated and intelligent as you are, but they have feelings and can express them in their own animal-ish ways. Again, think about it.
Thanks for reading
Collins30
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