Dog Lovers and Kids Understand...

In all our books in the Planet Of The Dogs series, dogs and children understand each other. Long, long ago, when the dogs first come down to earth, it is the children who initially serve as "translators" for adults who have no idea of what an incredible creature a dog is, what their capabilities are, or what they are about.

We recently received a message "from one dog lover to another" that passed along a touching story told by a veterinarian demonstrating, once again, a child's understanding  of dogs.

The vet couldn't save a family dog, a ten year old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. He offered to perform a euthanasia procedure at the house of Linda, Ron and their six year old son, Shane. In the words of the veterinarian, this is what happened:

"I felt a familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrouded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a very short time, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.

We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, 'I know why!...People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right? Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.' " 

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"Dogs are...wonderful. Truly. To know them is an experience that trancends -- a way to understand the joyfulnes of living and devotion."  Gary Paulson,Winterdance (1984)