Last year, Pope Francis II comforted a boy whose dog had died, saying, "One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God's creatures." This implies that dogs have souls, a reversal of the conservative theology that animals are soulless creatures. I have seen evidence of a soul in a dog. It has long been my habit to walk my five dogs on leashes around my neighborhood. Generally, dogs are not well-treated in Tonga. Tongans throw stones at dogs because they despise them and are fearful of them; of course, throwing stones at dogs makes them despise and fear humans, and makes them aggressive and violent, which confirms Tongans in their fear of dogs. So, on our walks through the neighborhood, my dogs and I encounter some threatening dogs, while others have come to accept us as friends. One particular pack of dogs is exceptionally provocative, and once they actually attacked us. Further down the same street is a brown dog who always meets up in friendship. The next time after that attack that we went out for a walk, the vicious pack came out into the street with its usual display of aggression, and the brown dog down the street, who usually stays near his house, trotted down the street toward us. There was something about his body language that made me think that perhaps he was coming to help us. Even so, I was surprised when he began to bark in a high-pitch, seemingly plaintive way as he placed himself between us and the vicious pack. The pack gave ground as we passed by, and the brown dog guarded our rear until we reached his house. I didn't think that we had any special attachment to the brown dog; as far as I was concerned, we were just acquaintances. Yet, the brown dog went out of his way to intercede on our behalf--a selfless, altruistic act to prevent a wrong. We lingered in front of the brown dog's house longer than usual. I was about to travel to United States for the next three and a half months, and I wasn't sure that I would see the brown dog again on Earth, although I am certain that I will see him again in the eternity of Christ. I thanked the brown dog and bade him farewell in Latin, "Gratias tibi ago, amice. Vade in pace."
06 November 2015
Canes Amicis Nostris et Animarum Habent
Last year, Pope Francis II comforted a boy whose dog had died, saying, "One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God's creatures." This implies that dogs have souls, a reversal of the conservative theology that animals are soulless creatures. I have seen evidence of a soul in a dog. It has long been my habit to walk my five dogs on leashes around my neighborhood. Generally, dogs are not well-treated in Tonga. Tongans throw stones at dogs because they despise them and are fearful of them; of course, throwing stones at dogs makes them despise and fear humans, and makes them aggressive and violent, which confirms Tongans in their fear of dogs. So, on our walks through the neighborhood, my dogs and I encounter some threatening dogs, while others have come to accept us as friends. One particular pack of dogs is exceptionally provocative, and once they actually attacked us. Further down the same street is a brown dog who always meets up in friendship. The next time after that attack that we went out for a walk, the vicious pack came out into the street with its usual display of aggression, and the brown dog down the street, who usually stays near his house, trotted down the street toward us. There was something about his body language that made me think that perhaps he was coming to help us. Even so, I was surprised when he began to bark in a high-pitch, seemingly plaintive way as he placed himself between us and the vicious pack. The pack gave ground as we passed by, and the brown dog guarded our rear until we reached his house. I didn't think that we had any special attachment to the brown dog; as far as I was concerned, we were just acquaintances. Yet, the brown dog went out of his way to intercede on our behalf--a selfless, altruistic act to prevent a wrong. We lingered in front of the brown dog's house longer than usual. I was about to travel to United States for the next three and a half months, and I wasn't sure that I would see the brown dog again on Earth, although I am certain that I will see him again in the eternity of Christ. I thanked the brown dog and bade him farewell in Latin, "Gratias tibi ago, amice. Vade in pace."
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