I've always liked dogs since I was little. I learned from my father to like them. When I was a child, he had two dogs: Piaba and Jacaré, a couple of mutts, who lived for many years with our family. At that time, we lived in the countryside and my father raised the dogs to keep us company and to scare away wild animals at night.
I remember that when we went to live in the city, my father immediately tried to find a special corner in the new house for Piaba and Jacaré. There they had three cubs. One cub died shortly thereafter, the other two grew up strong and healthy. When they were 3 years old, my father took them to the countryside. I suffered a lot with this separation! I remember that I even got sick.
As soon as the dogs arrived in the field, Dad changed the names from Mary and Puff to LampiĂŁo and Fox. When Mom demanded an explanation of why he had changed the dogs' names, Dad said, "Country life isn't easy." At first I didn't like LampiĂŁo and Fox very much, but little by little I got used to it and came to understand my father's reasons.
When Piaba and Jacaré died, I suffered a lot from this second separation. The only reason I didn't suffer anymore was because a month before, Dad came to visit us and brought Lampião and Fox with him. It was a real family gathering. Piaba and Jacaré were so happy that they seemed to have a premonition that they would die of old age in three months. It was at that time that my parents taught me about the life cycle of living beings, that is, that every living being is born, grows, reproduces and dies.
Seven months after leaving for the beyond of Piaba and Jacaré, my father brought two beautiful puppies from the countryside, the sons of Lampião and Raposa. What was our surprise when he said we could call them Mary and Puff! We accepted the suggestion and joy reigned in our family again!
Years later, when I became an adult and financially interdependent, I started raising a dog. As I was a student of philosophy at that time, I called him Apeiron. He was a beautiful poodle dog. I got him when he was little, still a puppy. At that time I was single. My girlfriend gave it to me. Years later I learned that this gift was a test. My girlfriend wanted to know if I was a responsible guy. I passed the test. Three years later we got married.
When our son was born, Apeiron was already an adult dog. Gradually he lost his vitality. We took it to the vet and he advised us to do the abatement, which we immediately rejected. We applied all the drugs prescribed by the doctor, but a week later he died. My wife and I suffered a lot, because Apeiron had been our cupid. In other words: Apeiron was like a son to us.
More than a year had passed since Apeiron's death when Sadam, a German Shepherd dog, appeared. I got it from a colleague at school. When my wife first saw Sadam, she didn't like him. She said it wouldn't work that dog in the house with our little son. I tried to argue the opposite, saying that it would bring countless benefits, but I was convinced when she showed me a certificate that said our son was allergic. I still spent six months with him, after that time I donated him to a colleague who was also working at school.
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I currently live in an environment where it is not possible to raise dogs. My dream is to live in a big house, with a backyard, to create a lot of them. In fact, I dream of raising nine dogs, rescuing the canine dynasty of Piaba and Jacaré, Mary and Puff, Lampião and Fox, Apeiron and Sadam, and the ninth dog is to win the heart of my son, who, unlike me, loves cats and has even raised three of them.
The last cat he created was Tom, an ugly and naughty cat. He found this cat in the neighbor's trash, took him home, gave him milk, affection, affection and when he got big he ran away from home with the other cats, leaving my son in tears. I took advantage of the occasion and explained to him the difference between dogs and cats. In the end he told me: "Cats don't have feelings".
Finally, I read him a sentence from George Orwell's book Animal Farm, published in 1945: "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." My hope is that he will follow his father's example and come to like dogs more than cats!
