Multiculturalism in dogs

Does my Labrador Retriever know that he is? do my Chihuahua's know that they are just that?  At what point do we go from being proud of our culture and ethnicity to ethnocentrism? That we devalue all others and exclude people and other ways of life.
The line is fine and easily crossed. Those of us who are blessed enough to live in melting pot areas of the country like I am, that can find Arabic bakeries and Asian markets along with Polish and Italian meat markets, Soul food restaurants, Mexican restaurants, Indian food and everything in between (My taste buds should never get bored) have an opportunity to enjoy many cultures without ever having to get on a plane. Now you would think that with all these ethnicities I live in a utopia where everyone gets along. Yeah, no! I have heard phrases like 'marry your own culture' and witnessed people who will not talk to you because even though they are living in the land of a really humongous statue that says 'Bring me your huddled masses', huddle only with their own. Birds of a feather.......
My Labrador is yellow and weighs 80 pounds. He is a retired Guide Dog for the Blind. He is smart, playful and loves to...you guessed it....retrieve. He still tries to Guide on occasion forgetting that he is retired and I am not blind. So I wonder what is his culture? Guiding was taught to him so that is not part of his culture, that was his job. Maybe  retrieving, killing and destroying toys is part of his true culture. (hover your mouse over the pictures)

Brooks the ex-Guide dog toy destroyer

My Chihuahua's were there first and Brooks had to adjust to their way of life, much like the Chi's had to adjust to feline culture when they arrived. The Turkish Angora's (Yes we are a multiracial feline/canine household) showed the then 1lb puppies the ropes and how things were done in their feline Arab American household. They grew up speaking cat and had an overwhelming love of them even though cat was not in their DNA.

Cat culture

Brooks never got a chance to learn the ancient and honorable feline culture from the elder statesmen of the feline tribe since all the cats have passed on, but the Chi's have done their best to educate and depart the time-honored feline knowledge and culture of their feline Arab American brothers and sisters to him. Sleeping anywhere he pleases is one of his favorite adopted cat culture activities he's learned.
Now Chihuahua's it's been rumored are not descendants of wolves but from Fennec foxes from Mexico. An interesting theory because that would mean over the many years Chihuahua's have been human's pocket companions we have been forcing a domestic canine culture and silly clothes on a native desert animal. Sound familiar in human history? Do my Chi's tolerate domesticated wolf culture, sparkly shirts that say grrrl power or tuxedo t-shirts for the boy Chi, or do they pine for the desert life of their ancestral homeland? That would explain the burrowing in blankets and sunning themselves in 90 degree temps while their much larger canine companion enjoys air conditioning. Labs are after all from Newfoundland not as the name might imply Labrador, where colder temps are normal.

Psst! We're actually foxes!

Yo no soy un perro! (I am not a dog!)

My 4 legged household companions can teach us all a lesson in diversity and getting along. Enjoying and learning from each other's differences and recognizing that we all share in one universal culture, human culture. We all want ultimately the same things, family, faith, love, a nice place to live and enough to eat, a bright future for our children and to be able to carry on our legacy through them, plus small dogs to dress up. Be proud of who you are and the heritage you came from, take the positive lessons of your ancestors and the good things of your culture and move them forward, share them with others and enjoy the diversity and history of another. Mix it up a little, I'm a firm believer in once you learn about it, you end up respecting it and your world is a richer place for it.
Then again maybe I'm being Pollyanna. (an excessively or blindly optimistic person.)

Part of Chihuahua culture is staring, giving off subliminal messages till you give up the coveted object. Something they learned from their feline Arab American upbringing.

News that makes me think

Once in a blue moon a story you read gives you pause to consider. That happened to me this morning as I was scrolling through the news stories of the day on my smarty phone. In between sips of fresh, delicious, hot coffee I read about two women, one who was five months pregnant and their dog. The story was of how they got lost during a hike. Not a riveting story I know but what happened next is just not only tragic but inconceivable to me. They were rescued from being lost and later reunited with their vehicle, an SUV.

“Um….really Newcastle if that’s your idea of a riveting story then you need to get out more!” You say.

No wait! Don’t move on to the next blog yet there’s more. The two ladies and their loyal companion after the rescue climbed into the SUV and started to drive off. The driver had to make a decision at the end of the driveway on which way to turn. See NOW there’s the tragedy. One way would have led them home to safety, to warm beds and loved ones. The other way ultimately emptied into a lake. It was reported the driver was unable to see the lake due to fog and heavy rain until they heard the splash. The women and the dog drowned in the SUV.

Why does this bother me? Mainly it is because that is like our life. One wrong turn can change our lives forever.

“Yeah, Yeah!” you say. “We’ve heard this lecture before; we’re moving on to another blog!”

Wait! I beg of you as I hold you by your ankles as you move your mouse to the ‘next’ button. Hear me out before you leave this page. Besides the creepy Final Destination aspect of this story that death was determined to find them no matter what, Death also decided to play a practical joke on them giving them a false sense of security that being rescued must have brought. Just imagine the relief they must have felt of the unspoken promise of being able to go home to a hot meal and a warm bed instead of falling down a ravine lost in the woods.  Death is an asshole.

“Are you trying to say Death is a real being as in the proverbial Angel of Death?” You ask. “Don’t you think it was just a tragic series of events and nothing more Newcastle? Why are you such a drama queen?”

First off I’ve been told I’m a Drama Empress! Don’t believe me read my books! And most times I would agree with you, but in this instance I believe the women and dog were selected, their sell by date passed. How else can we explain being rescued from one tragic situation just to die in the same day probably only hours apart in another tragic situation?

“You’re a moron Newcastle! Didn’t they choose to continue in fog and rain knowing they couldn’t see and apparently had no sense of direction?” You yell at me.

Yes they exercised free will by ignoring the laws of nature and tempted fate driving off into weather that the driver couldn’t navigate in, I get it and maybe Death isn’t such an asshole after all.

“So what is your point” You politely but exasperatingly ask.

 Well haven’t we all at one time or another known someone who made a wrong turn somewhere in their life that affected them and their family. Maybe it was us and we took that wrong turn after being rescued once before.  Like the woman in the story who was pregnant, after being rescued once already that day, if she had just waited out the rain or if she had just decided not to go hiking that day, would her friend and the dog still be alive as well? Or was it just fate, an inevitability she and the others had no control over. Consider this, does the decision of a drunk to drive automatically mean he alone creates the fate of the poor schmuck that happens to get into his way or was that also fate for both of them?  

“Where are you going with this Newcastle, your rambling! I’m going to look for the recipe blogs now!” you say as you chastise me some more.

Ok, before you go I just have to admit, I have no real point other than the story bothered me and it gave me pause to consider the wrong turns in my life and of those of my family and friends. I needed to discuss it out loud so it doesn’t haunt me and keep me from functioning throughout my day. So that I too can look for recipe blogs and short stories and vacation pictures of places I will never get to see in real life. I just want everyone to take a moment and consider the next time we are faced with which way to turn, to realize that our decision may take others down that wrong turn with us for better or worse and that Death sometimes really is an asshole. May all your turns be right turns.

Quote the Raven. “Appreciate the day and embrace each other.”

God Bless,

Raven Newcastle

P.S there is an awesome Mac and Cheese recipe a few blogs over!