Monday open thread: In praise of dogs

The Hounds of Love, from l-r: Kiki, Meg, and Stewie

Unless you've been under a rock for the past few days, you will have heard about South Dakota governor Kristi Noem and her, let's be frank, murdering of a puppy because she was unable to train him. Across the political spectrum there was an uproar. One of the few things upon which right and left can agree is that dogs are special creatures who bring love and joy to their humans, and to cast them aside, abuse them, or murder them is beyond the pale.

Noem related this story in her book because she thought it would make her look "tough" and "politically incorrect". She's been spending the weekend doing damage control, but it's been nothing other than a bunch of this:

But this is the modern conservative movement. Every vile pathology is lauded as "toughness". Every antisocial behavior is to be commended, because society is the enemy. Those who subscribe to that vile ideology live in a bubble where every cruelty is cast as kindness, every hatred as love. It is truly an Orwellian moment, where slavery is freedom and war is peace.

But, as the condemnation from every sector shows, some things are beyond the pale. She could have rehomed Cricket. As the dame of the manor, she thought she had the right to do with that innocent life as she wished. This may very well get her the nod from Donald Trump to be his vice presidential colleague. If he does take her on, he will bleed even more votes than he already is. Wanton cruelty is not something most Americans want to see in a leader a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Me? I wasn't much of a dog person until one Christmas, in 2010. I was in the shower getting ready for work. I thought my wife had already left. While I got out of the shower, my phone received a text. It was from my wife. She asked me to come outside. I dried myself off and put on some shorts and went out. She was sitting in her car. I asked, "What?" What I didn't notice, because I wasn't expecting it, was that she had a puppy in her lap. I inhaled a deep breath. "I guess we have a dog, now," I said. Stewie had either escaped or had been cast out, we don't know which. But that good man—and Meg, and Kiki—have been the lodestars of our lives. Far from expecting them to protect us, we would give our lives for them. That's what Noem and her ilk don't understand: Being a hardass is not a route to power. It is a route to being despised, when your values are so in contradiction to the way normal human beings behave. Normal Americans love dogs. Normal Americans want to protect dogs and other animals. Normal Americans would never think of doing an "Old Yeller" on a dog because it wouldn't behave. And, certainly, normal Americans wouldn't brag about killing a puppy.

As it happens, the YouTube algorithm sent me this video of actor Dave Bautista. I can think of no better way to conclude this piece.

As Gandhi said, you can tell much about a society by how it treats its animals. The society posited by Kristi Noem is one no decent human being should want any part of.

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