The Sunday Mail
LARGELY touted as man’s best friend, dogs have over the centuries largely become part and parcel of people’s lifestyles.
The rich, those in the middle and the poor, including the poorest of the poor, own these four-legged animals that are rumoured to have descended from wolves, which come in various shapes and sizes.
Called “inja”, “imbwa”, “mugido”, “dhogalo”, “canine”, “hound”, “mongrel”, “cur”, “tyke”, “pup”, “puppy”, “whelp”, “doggy”, “pooch”, “mutt”, “pupper”, “doggo” or “fido”, among a host of other names, dogs are found in several homes.
Books, newspapers and magazines are awash with beautiful pictures of dogs and colourful stories on canines that saved the lives of their masters when calamity struck.
However, boxer Mike Tyson once kept a tiger as a pet, but the end was almost tragic. There are rich but visually impaired people who reportedly rely on their dogs for virtually everything, including visits to parks and supermarkets.
Hunters use dogs in their business to sniff out animals they will be looking for, chase and catch them.
Ordinary people keep dogs to alert them of intruders in their homes, business premises and other properties.
The police and other allied agencies use dogs in their duties to sniff out criminals and drug dealers, and even for recreation.
Dogs are, in fact, big business as there are also dog shows where they (dogs) are seen driving cars, rescuing the injured, shopping and doing a lot of other things that humans can do.
Across the world, dogs consume billions of dollars’ worth of food per month, attesting to the big business they are. The food that dogs eat also speaks volumes about the quality and financial stamina of their owners.
Some dogs live on makoko esadza, while others, depending on who owns them or for what purpose, enjoy princely meals that can gobble up funds similar to salaries of some professionals. As I commit pen to paper, gentle reader, some people have left their jobs to breed dogs for sale and they claim the venture makes one smile all the way to the bank.
“Imbwa inodyisa, mudhara. I have made a fortune from selling dogs such that I sometimes kick myself in the foot for not having made the decision to quit my job earlier. All you need to do is to ensure the animals are fed, vaccinated and do not mate with bad breeds,” a former schoolmate told this writer.
“Nembwa unodya mari yakawanda kukunda yemanewspaper, chikomana,” he said, while showing off his brand-new car.
Gentle reader, indeed, dogs bring fortune. This probably explains why, on every road leading into a residential suburb, there are boys selling dogs.
In fact, people are stealing dogs from one another to make money.
However, one man’s meat is another’s poison.
Not everyone loves dogs; others like beer more.
Newspapers are also awash with reports of dogs that have turned their minders, owners and unsuspecting people into food.
One such dog is the pit bull.
Pit bulls have a reputation, which is passionately contested by advocates of the breed, of being both violent and unpredictable. In terms of height and weight, they can be 45 to 53cm and 15 to 27kg for males; and 43 to 50cm and 13 to 22kg for females. Pit bulls are stocky and muscular, features that make them formidable attackers.
Moreover, pit bulls are known not only for their strength, but also their tenacity and tendency to bite and hang on to a target, refusing to release their bite, even if they are lifted off the ground and left hanging by their teeth.
Gentle reader, dogs are big business, but let us learn to manage the breeds we keep.
Inotambika mughetto.
Feedback: rosenthal.
