Friday, June 11, 2010

FRIEND OR FOE

I woke very early this morning and had some quite time before I had to get out of bed.  My mind began to wander and here is one of the places it wandered to: A strange comparison of sorts.  

Chloe, my toy poodle, alerts us when an intruder walks or rolls onto our property.

She barks, she whines, she runs back and forth from the windows and doors, pants, growls, and jumps up and down. This behavior almost always gets our attention and causes us to investigate the cause of it.

And then we react:

-To a Friend: Open the door and welcome them inside. When she realizes we are ok with the visitor she then changes her tune. The distressed behavior turns into excitement. Her entire body begins to shake with it. Mom and Dad like them and so does she.

-To a Foe: (The "foe" has never been anything other than a stray animal: dog, cat, raccoon, chipmunk, or sometimes armadillo.) We usually try to scare the intruder away to quieten her down and with the safety of our cat in mind.

On occasion she has had the opportunity to confront the foe face to face instead of from behind a window pane.  She does so cautiously.  If the foe (usually a stray dog) appears friendly enough and accepts her presence she hangs close even after it decides to move on.  She  follows it and runs down the street, stopping occasionally to look back at us as we frantically and to the top of our lungs attempt to call her back.  She continues on, not knowing her destination or understanding the dangers that await her.  She is oblivious.  She follows the enemy out of her safety zone, into the busy street dodging huge things that could squash her and encountering those who would not waste time trying to fool her with masked friendliness, but rather devour her immediately. She does this without a single thought of the consequences or understanding that once she gets too far there may never be a turning point.  She does not consider that she would be solely responsible for her own physical needs. She does consider her mom and dad and how sad they would be and how much they would miss her and worry about her everyday.  She does this not understanding that her new companion does not really care about her or her well-being, only themselves.

How many times I have wished I could understand why she would be so willing to leave a place where she is so loved and taken care of!

Curiosity? To see if the grass is really greener on the other side? Adventure? Would she miss us?  Would she remember her wonderful life here?  Would she realize her mistake?  Would she try to find her way home? Would she find us?

After retrieving her more than once from this fate, our emotions have been mixed with relief, thankfulness, and anger.  Although the relief and thankfulness usually win out, she also gets scolded  for her disobedience.

And when she gets in trouble she pouts and acts like a child.  It is really funny.  She will not make eye contact with us.

Is she disappointed, mad, or too ashamed to look at us?

I cannot answer any of these questions for my little poodle.

However, my daughter could.

She knows!

-She understands the pull and intrigue of the enemy
-The tricks they used to lure her away
-And the world that enticed her
-She knows all the hows and whys
-And the color of the grass on the other side
-Yes, she does long for and miss our relationship (the way it should be and use to be)
-Yes, she remembers the comforts and security of home
-She does realize and understand her mistakes
-She is trying to find her way home
-She has traveled far and the journey back is long and difficult
-But she knows it is still possible
-Disappointed and mad? At herself!
-But mainly ashamed
-And also the reason for little eye contact and few words yesterday during our brief encounter

FRIEND OR FOE??

-She knows them both
-Having to learn the difference
-The most difficult part

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