- I often feel grateful for dogs. Because when I was very young, our family’s rural dog saved my brother’s life. On the night that the incident happened, my mother told me that while I was at school (my brother was too young to go to school), he fell into the water while my mother was working in the kitchen. As a result, the dog saw my brother fall into the water, ran from outside into the kitchen, barking frantically, and finally tugged at my mother’s pant leg to get her outside. My mother felt something was off and followed the dog outside, ultimately discovering my brother in the water. If it had been any later, my brother might have been in serious danger. Since then, we intended to treat that rural dog well, but unfortunately, one day after school, my mother told me that the dog was gone, likely taken away by a dog dealer. Since then, my mother has been afraid to keep dogs, worried that she couldn't provide a good and stable life for them, thus committing a "sin."
- Even the darkest memories about dogs do not feel bleak to me. (These memories occurred before our family dog saved my brother.) In my memory, I was most afraid of other people's dogs. In the countryside, many people keep dogs to guard their homes or property. Sometimes, when passing by other people's doors, I would see 3 to 4 different dogs from different households; some were very gentle and friendly, some would bark wildly but were timid, while others had a calm demeanor and fierce eyes that instilled fear. In my memory, I was bitten by dogs twice. Once, when I was young and passing by another person's house in the village, a black dog, which was on a leash but not tied, chased and bit me, leaving a wound on my leg. At the time of the bite, I was very scared, and afterward, my mother took me to get a rabies vaccine. At that time, I seemed not to be afraid and was not scared of the dog.
The most frightening and unforgettable experience was being chased twice by a wolfdog near a fish farm. I remember that I took a shortcut by walking near a fish farm. Because I was a stranger, the dog raised by the fish farm owner ran swiftly and pounced at me from about three hundred meters away. I was small at the time, and that wolfdog (the size of a large border collie) could stand at my waist, and when it stood up, it was likely taller than me. I was very scared and even worried that the dog would tear a large chunk of flesh from me. In that moment of crisis, I seemed to hear the dog's owner from a distance saying to me: "Stand still and don’t run, it won’t bite you." Looking up, I saw the dog owner working in another valley, witnessing everything in front of me. I thought to myself, why not just call the wolfdog back to you? Under that intimidation, I didn’t dare to speak and could only fearfully shout, "Don’t come over, don’t bite me." When the wolfdog rushed to my side, it jumped up with its front paws and threatened to bite my right leg, but it didn’t bite hard; it tugged at my pant leg a few times and then left at the owner's call. After the wolfdog had moved 100 meters away, when I thought it was safe and was about to leave, the wolfdog ran back to try to bite me again. This time I still didn’t move; the dog came over, barked a few times, but didn’t bite me, and then left. After leaving the fish farm, I felt a sense of having survived a disaster. When I lifted my pant leg, I found that my pants were a bit torn, but although there were some marks left by the wolfdog's bite, I was not actually bitten. I had originally worried that the dog would bite off a large part of my leg; in reality, the wolfdog seemed to have some understanding and did not truly injure me. After this, I felt that perhaps dogs can understand humans; as long as they are not provoked and without their owner's command to attack, there is no need to be afraid. To this day, when I encounter any dog, I pass by steadily and calmly, no longer afraid.
- Nowadays, I increasingly want to keep a dog. The reasons for this thought are probably fourfold. First, the influence of friends has made me realize that dogs have emotions and consciousness. A friend who has a dog told me that his dog (a pug) can understand human words and can express joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. At first, I was somewhat skeptical. Even though I knew from books that animals have consciousness, this book knowledge did not feel real to me. After hearing my friend talk about his dog multiple times, I felt that this dog was like a child, clearly having consciousness and emotions. This shattered my previous understanding from books that animals do not have consciousness. If you think carefully, you will find that the latest research shows that animals do have consciousness, but their intelligence levels are relatively low (among them, crows have very high intelligence; they can observe traffic lights and throw shelled nuts onto the road when cars stop, waiting to eat or take the nuts after the cars crush them). The second reason I want to keep a dog is influenced by movies; I hope to have a similar cute dog. Previously, I watched "Hachi: A Dog's Tale" and was indeed moved by the dog's loyalty, but at the time of watching, I seemed not to fully understand the bond between the elderly dog owner and the dog. Recently, I learned about a movie based on a true story called "Hachi: A Dog's Tale." In the film, Hachi, abandoned and mistakenly believing it was its fault for delaying boarding a plane, returns with hope and despair for its owner, and during this process, it meets a young boy who has lost his mother and whose father is busy with work or ideals. Ultimately, the boy and the dog help and trust each other, and the dog ends up living with the boy. The third reason I want to keep a dog might be a more common reason: people are often lonely, and dogs are simple and loyal companions. I often wonder why others keep dogs, especially in cities. Initially, I was puzzled because keeping a dog requires a significant expense. However, now I have a different view on this issue, especially after witnessing many parents struggling to raise sons, only to be beaten and abused by them as they grow up. Perhaps dogs are not as smart as humans, but they seem to be more straightforward. If you treat them well, they will naturally remember and be loyal to you. If you set the rules, dogs can be much less troublesome than mischievous children. In contrast, humans are more complex; even between parents and children, about twenty years of nurturing does not seem to increase a child's love for their parents. Instead, resentment may arise due to unequal distribution of property among siblings, leading to a reluctance to care for the elderly, and they may not even show up for their parents' funerals. Of course, many people keep dogs merely as tools: for guarding, showing off wealth, or out of fear of needing a fierce dog for protection, etc. The fourth reason is that I hope to teach my child to cherish life and value others through keeping a dog. I heard a story: a university professor's child liked and raised a hamster; later, the hamster fell ill and was almost dying. The professor told the child that there were two choices: buy a new one (about 800 yuan) or treat the hamster (about 2300 yuan). The child's final choice was to treat the original hamster, after all, it was the hamster that accompanied him during his growth, and abandoning it would be a disregard for a small life. I can't help but recall a viewpoint in the field of animal philosophy: people's attitudes towards pets or animals can reflect their attitudes towards vulnerable groups such as women and children. Perhaps those who cherish animals and other lives will also cherish themselves and value their relatives, friends, and even strangers. Currently, both my son and I are willing to keep a dog, but my daughter-in-law is still somewhat afraid of dogs, and I hope that in the future, I can keep a dog.