Misunderstood
Dear Frankie,
My family expects me to listen to them and to understand what they say. On the other hand, they often don’t listen to me or even try to understand what I am saying.
Several neighborhood boys pulled a prank on my brother a couple of weeks ago. They rang our front doorbell and then ran and hid under our porch. When my brother discovered no one was at the door, he shrugged his shoulders. About 15 minutes later, the boys again rang the bell and hid.
I saw the boys this time and began barking to let my brother know they were there. When my brother went to the door and didn’t see anyone, he told my dad that the doorbell was probably broken.
I tried to tell him about the boys. So, I ran to the window, stood on my hind legs, looked out, and started barking like I always do when someone is on our porch.
But instead of investigating why I was barking, my brother got mad at me and shouted, “Be quiet.”
He pulled me by my collar to the back door when I persisted and shoved me out into the back yard. While outside, I heard the boys ring our bell again.
This time, my brother didn’t bother to go to the door. Instead, he called an electrician and scheduled an appointment to fix our doorbell. It felt terrible to be so misunderstood.
Hank
Dear Hank,
Talk about “shoot the messenger.”
It does feel terrible to have your words and behavior misinterpreted. Dogs are limited in the way they can communicate with humans. No matter how hard we try, there will be times when we won’t be able to share our thoughts with them.
Although humans treat us like their children and family members who are human, we aren’t. It is best to keep that in mind and accept there is just so much we can do to get our point across.
You did your best, Hank. You tried to tell your brother about the prank. Unfortunately for you, your good deed didn’t go unpunished.
Best, Frankie
© 2023 Geneva Woodruff
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