The Civilized World

No, don't walk up to the guy on the bike! He really likes to meet humans and dogs alike — and cats, too. But cats don't seem to have the same sentiments towards him, they don't want to meet him. Well, except for a few, until they realize how rambunctious and energetic he is. He's never harmed a cat, since he's lived with me at least.
 
 
Alike, people don't always want to say hello to him. Even though he's friendly, offers to wash your face and helps you with your diet to keep you slim. It's unfortunate because many people are afraid of dangerous dogs and now that they have the opportunity to meet a fiercely gentle dog, they refuse — and he has not had the opportunity to socialize. That's bad. 
 
 
Well, I have to admit that the human world and the rules that come with it sneaked up into my mind too. I'd love to let him run loose more often, let him sniff out more people. But there's my apprehension that people would get mad at me, that it's rude to let dogs run free, do their anarchic dog things. So a bunch of limitations come from me and my projections. 
 
 
Sometimes I'm bold and dare something new. Remove the leash in a new place, give him more leash, take him to an event. I've made good experiences, though - regarding events, they're not always particularly interesting for dogs and sometimes he had to be packed away in a corner. 
 
 
Why can't we go to their places? Why can't we take the human world to the animals' places instead and watch them do animal things while we do human things? Well, I guess we did this. We put up houses and roads in their living rooms and kitchens and called it civilization. Now animals have to behave and humans rule the place. 
 
 
I guess when it all began, it was time consuming and unnerving to keep the bugs and snakes out of the caves, and the first houses surely didn't have glass windows or even a skin thing to separate the world inside from the world outside. We walked the same footpaths as ants and bisons. Cats and dogs and chickens were scurrying about in the dirty road. Somewhere between today and back then, we removed the wild anarchic animal world and became civilized. At least we believe that we are civilized.
 
 
I really wish I could go with him anywhere without us being scolded or feeling unwelcome. Perhaps the solution to that is just doing whatever he and I want. No second thoughts. He doesn't have them, why should I? And if everyone follows suit, maybe this human world will become a tad bit more uncivilized and animal.
 
 
Well, maybe the best solution is somewhere in the middle. He needs to hold back his anarchic instincts and run down everyone, but humans should relax and give space to animals. And maybe if both sides work hard enough, we can get animals back in our civilized world. Free running chickens, dogs at the café, a cat on the fence, a cow in the traffic. How cool would that be? For me, I wouldn't feel so hard pressed to either care for him or for society. I could be part of society and bring him along. We could report to work together, go to a pub later and enjoy a sandwich and a cool drink, we could go to the park at night and listen to music. And the next day, we could visit that museum with lots of Dino bones. That would be awesome.
 
 
 
 
Article written by Stargazer (August 2026) 
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