In Response -

This started off in the 'comment' window and just got too big to warrant that space -

Since I have picked up Atlas Shrugged, again, the reality is, that question occurs often so far in the story, in the context exactly as PT describes. I have not 'met' John Galt as a character yet, (H finds he is a main protagonist, used by Rand to present one of her social theories) but he is strongly foreshadowed, frequently used as a somewhat rhetorical answer to rehetorical questions, e.g.; Q - "why is the sky blue?" A - "who is John Galt?" I simply plugged that into my Little Bits sort of to mix things up, and since whatever book I happen to be involved in will temper my thinking for the duration - it ended up in my blog. Perhaps I'll remember to expound a little on this after I've completed the novel. That will not be any time soon.


Re Nikko and her barking. She has always been a barker. Being a terrier breed, she is very stubborn and sensitive, and I never could train her to #1 not bark so much, and #2 walk nicely on a leash, amongst some other things. Not for lack of effort, though. Up to this point, I've accepted it, but for most of her life she hasn't been home alone, so if she starts on a barking spree because someone is walking another dog where she can see, we were there to calm her down. That is no longer the case. Even when she is in the house, in the summer when the windows are open, the whole neighborhood can hear her go on and on and on - and there is nobody to stop her. And if we move into a multi family where someone is on the other side of the wall or above us or something, it will be a nightmare for them.

This situation has become something that needs to be solved, and I am looking for answers. Shock collar is out of the question for this problem, and would hurt her a lot more than the procedure. The procedure really wouldn't hurt her in the long run, and I think is more humane than something like trimming the dogs' ears to make them stand up, pain for the purpose of aesthetics. She'd have a boo boo that would heal, she could still 'bark and talk', so her purpose wouldn't be removed, but very little sound will come out. Is it worse than giving her a hysterectomy so she won't have any puppies? It falls under the same logic, I think.

What I am looking for is somebody to give me a real reason not to do it, something I may have overlooked in my internal debate over this. I gotta say, I am not currently seeing one.
I love my little furry friends and as Nikko gets older it sometimes occurs to me that the time is coming when I'll suffer a hole in my life that only she has filled for many many years. (tears in my eyes thinking of that) however, I have never felt that my pets were my children...it is in my pragmatic nature to accept that Nikko is a dog, a pet. That doesn't lessen her impact on my life and my family culture, nor my committment to her well being, but simply in the capacity of an animal. I treasure the fact that she is an animal, and is the very reason she is special to me. Nikko does not use the same reasoning or emotional nature as I. I've always avoided the application of human nature to animals. I think it demeans them.

Part of my responsibility as Nikko's "owner" (a merely semantic description) is to make sure she fits in within the necessary human boundaries with as little friction as possible, while at the same time balancing her own natural instincts. Like X coming to the realization that she needs to accomodate Beau's need for sniffing and taking in the world in accordance to his own nature, not hers.

When we domesticate animals, we in essence keep them from growing to their full and natural instincts. If we didn't, they couldn't live with humans in the harmony we expect, but what makes them special is their very 'animalness', so I try to allow that to the extent until it no longer fits within my acceptance. And although there are some basic universal boundaries, such as biting and running the streets, a lot of the boundaries take place within the tolerance limits of the people who house them. Some people will not tolerate pets on any furniture, some will allow in beds. My social responsibility, the responsibility I have to my neighbors, requires that I minimize Nikko's incessant barking, just as much as I respect the ownership of their land and keep my dog off of it. Yet at the same time, I am strongly bent toward doing so with as little effect on Nikko's nature as possible. It took me awhile even to accept the electric fence solution for keeping her in the yard - I don't like the collar. But again, I had to find the balance, the trade off.

Okay, my pets are due for their yearlies, so at this juncture I am going to inquire into the exact details of the procedure to cut the vocal cords, and then make my final decision. If anybody can come up with an equally effective workaround, I'm interested.

Love you all -

Peace (and quiet)