The Parable of the Dog

May 19, 2000

Throngs of children clog the streets of my neighborhood in the mornings and afternoons. On their way to and from school, they encounter me walking my little beagle.

A friendlier dog there never was. Jack has never growled or barked or snapped at anyone. Instead, he sniffs and nuzzles and licks those who will let him. If you yell at him, he’ll run away. If you cry in front of him, he’ll come to try to make it okay. If you play with him, he’ll smile and dance around waiting for you to throw the rope or the ball or the frisbee so that he can bring it right back to you.

If you can imagine a little beagle bee-bopping wide-eyed down the street with his tail wagging and a hopeful look on his face, then you know my dog Jack.

Most of the kids in my neighborhood love to see the little happy beagle coming their way. They smile and laugh and run to him with outstretched hands to give him a pat and a rub. A few kids…only a few…step aside or move to a wall or turn and walk away because they are afraid. No matter how sweet and friendly and small Jack is, to them he is a four-legged creature with fangs who operates on emotion rather than reason. A coward knows you can’t talk your way out of a bite.

And then there are the kids that torment Jack. They bark and growl and stomp their feet down near his head to show him that he is just a dog and that’s all he’ll ever be and that they are better than him and that he can keep all his wagging and smiling and sniffing and nuzzling because they’ll have none of it and you’re weak if you do.

All of these kids—the friendly ones, the cowards, and the bullies—are all around seven-years old. And as the saying goes, the child is the father of the man. You can see their futures written across their unlined faces. The majority of them will go through life seeking ways to get along in the world with a smile and a sense of fair play. A few of them will always be afraid…of everyone and everything. And a few will hurt and take simply because they can.

But do they have to end up like that? Do they not have the power to change? Can the bully soften? Can the coward stiffen? And can the even-keeled stay that way during all the raging storms to come?

Maybe.

And maybe monkeys might fly out of Jack’s butt.

Broadway Jim Sosnicky