[Opinion] Cocker Spaniels and Beagles

My dog Cookie is a English cocker spaniel that hunts birds. Cookie was a troublemaker from the very first day when she was adopted by our family. It is not easy to have a puppy in a house without a yard. Not only did she bite books and furniture, but also she was not potty-trained. After spreading a newspaper, we told her hundreds of times, “Here is your toilet!” Nonetheless, she relieved herself everywhere in the house. As a result, I had to live with a pair of red rubber gloves and a wet cloth in my hands to clean her discharges. She, now after four months, does it on our apartment veranda, which I appreciate dearly.

My husband and I often eat out at a nearby restaurant that specializes in pork barbecue. We can accompany Cookie to the restaurant since seats and tables are in the street outside the restaurant. There is another hunting dog, a beagle in the restaurant. This beagle gets agitated whenever Cookie appears. Cookie is aggressive only at home and becomes shy outside. She used to be afraid of dogs as small as Shih Tzus to make us to doubt if she is really a hunting dog. However, after being attacked several times by the beagle, she now confronts the dog with a bit menacing snarl.

It is said that the reason why dogs and cats cannot get along well is because of the difference in the ways they express themselves. Even though Cookie and the beagle are both dogs, it seems that they have trouble communicating each other. They shake their tails to each other and this means they are greeting each other. Then, why are they snarling at each other as soon as they have an encounter? It may be an instinct to gain control of the other, but I feel that they are doing that because they don’t know what to do to become friends. Anyhow, both are loyal to their owners.

I felt secretly proud when I read a newspaper article about replacing dogs to protect the president with cocker spaniels and beagles. Some may be sarcastic about the change, saying that the government is changing guardian dogs now because there is nothing else left for them to change any more. Still, I believe that cakes of appealing looks are also good to eat: these dogs have excellent searching ability and, on top of that, they are also cute and therefore, they go well with the images of this new era, and better than big and authoritarian looking dogs.

By the way, Cookie has a strange habit holding my leg and refusing to release it. Maybe she does that because she doesn’t want to be left alone. I hear that there are many opponents of the president’s who hold him to the end and not let him go ahead. I become a bit concerned worrying if even his guardian dogs do the same.

Kim Mi-jin, guest editorial writer and novelist, usedream@yahoo.com