Stick Library

Out walking in the wetlands…
Antonia: Stick Library? What’s that supposed to mean?
Gelsomina: Sticks you can borrow for hiking? For those who forget to bring their fancy walking sticks.
Antonia: Pooh sticks? 
Gelsomina: Possibly. There’s a bridge.
Antonia: Or maybe for a game like a scavenger hunt?
Gelsomina: Na. I got it. Listen. It’s for dogs. Owners can borrow sticks to throw for their dogs.
Antonia: For play fetch. Makes sense. A stick library for dogs!
__________
Voice-over

There are such places. Word is spreading.

Corgi Dander

Ankle scratching…

Liz: Excuse me, allergy.

Layla: What set it off?

Liz: Corgis.

Layla: As in dog corgi?

Liz: I was at an outdoor restaurant for lunch earlier, and a pair of them were running around my feet.

Layla: Lucky on corgi legs they couldn’t have gone higher.

Liz: Cute though.

Layla: I can totally relate. My allergies are the reason I can't have any pets. Often think about it. Then I visit my sister’s place and end up sneezing and itching for hours.

Liz: I wish there was a way to have a pet without all the allergy issues. Have you looked into hypoallergenic breeds?

__________

Voice-over

It is said that there are hypoallergenic pets, breeds that shed less dander than others and cause less of an allergic reaction in people. But the evidence suggests that all pets shed skin flakes and fur in varying amounts.

Feline kinesics and proxemics

Academic justification for an affective allegiance…

Victoria: Why keep a cat? Can’t take them for a walk. Not like a dog.

Where they sit...

Florence: You can use a leash to train them.

Victoria: They’re contrary and moody.

Florence: True. But you need to read their moods. And they can change from being sulky to affectionate really quickly. Unlike some humans who take days.

Victoria: And they can’t speak. Dogs at least bark.

Florence: You need to learn cat kinesics. Their body language. Eye contact. Blinking. Head butts. Gentle biting. Playing. And reading their proxemics.

Victoria: Their what?

Florence: Where they sit. Who they look at. And sometimes they turn their back and look the other way.

Victoria: Aha. That sounds like expressing their discontent.

Florence: Well, annoyance and sulkiness.

_____________

Voice-over

Kinesics: the study of body movements as proposed by Ray Birdwhistell. Proxemics: the study of space and positioning described by Edward T. Hall.

Dogs of Twin Cities

Dog communities as reflections of human communities…

Benito: Guarenas or Guatire? Which is friendlier?

I have good chats with my provider... 

Rómulo: I’ve lived in both. Thing I’ve found is, you can tell the difference in people by the difference in the class of dogs in the town.

Benito: Class of dogs?

Rómulo: Yes. Let me tell you. In Guarenas the dogs are friendly, smiling and tail-wagging. Lots of Labradors. Guarenas has a better class of dog.

Benito: You have a point. In Guatire so many dogs snarl and strain at the leash. Pete bools. 

I train my handler to think like me...

Rómulo: Don’t get me wrong. Some people need protection. But a critical mass of cuddly dogs can change a population into being cuddly too. And the corollary is, perhaps pit bulls precipitate a population of pugnacious pugilists.

_________________

Voice-over

Despite the gratuitous alliteration, Rómulo has a point about the owners of dogs. Lolling labradors appeal to friendly folk. Why would a friendly individual want a pitbull? Perhaps some people might want one as an extension of their own aggression. Maybe an aggressive minority uses dogs as a cultural weapon.

…