Chapter 26. Snoop and the Professor: Pat’s Story
The other day the Professor and I went through our morning ritual. Mom left early for work; I sat up in bed and used my Beagle brainwaves to wake the Professor. I allowed the Professor to have a cup of coffee and we were off on our morning walk. The professor actually thinks he walks me, but we all know I actually walk him. Anyway, we happened to be walking by the retention pond when I saw Pat, the big Pit Bull, and Mr. Gwinn walking toward us. I immediately steered the Professor to the other side of the street to avoid Pat. I used to do this in Indiana also. There is a lot of talk about how mean and aggressive pit bulls are and I believed it, so I have always steered the Professor to the other side of the street. Now I have to admit that the Professor never said anything like that, but other dogs like to talk a lot and tell stories about pit bulls, so I have avoided them in the past.
The Professor decided to talk to Mr. Gwinn and we crossed the street. I wasn’t sure we were doing the right thing but I reluctantly went along. Mr. Gwinn is retired and he is also part-owner of a huge soy bean farm in Iowa, wherever that is. The Professor started talking about tariffs and I immediately lost interest like some of his students. But, I was face to face with Pat, the Pit Bull, and I was a bit frightened at first. I discovered that Pat had one of his ears torn and a big scar on his left eye. I wondered what had happened. We began to smell each other and he seemed a bit frightened of me. Beagles are not aggressive so I assured Pat that I was friendly. I licked his torn ear hoping to fix it. Finally, the Professor and Mr. Gwinn started talking about Pat. Mr. Gwinn said that he had actually rescued Pat from a dog-fighting ring. I had no idea what that was but it didn’t sound very good. Mr. Gwinn showed Pat’s eye and ear to the Professor. He said it took several years to get Pat to trust people and other dogs after his experiences in the dog-fighting ring. He said most fighting dogs have to be put down. That sounded horrible. I began to understand how lucky I was to have the Professor and mom love on me. Since then I have gotten to know Pat quite well. We play with each other and swap stories about walking, pooping, and peeing in the woods on the other side of the retention pond.
You know there is a lesson here for all. Each one has his or her own story and life experiences. Don’t apply rumors and stereotypes to individuals. Get to know that individual by listening and understanding his/her story. If you do, the world becomes a much better place…just ask my buddy, Pat the Pit Bull, and me.
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