Thursday, July 23, 2009
Is There Such A Thing As A Doggie Paternity Suit?
We have a male dog named Copernicus. He is seven and a half years old. To the best of our knowledge he was still a virgin until a few days ago. Here in the US most dogs are fixed so they cannot reproduce. Many states are even pushing laws requiring all dogs to be neutered on the justification that there are too many stray dogs that have to be killed each year in animal shelters. (Here in San Mateo County, California, we are lucky to be served by the Peninsula Humane Society. Animals are only executed if they are terminally ill.)
Copernicus is an intact male. He still has his testicles. Numerous veterinarians and other professionals have urged me to neuter the animal. Both Elena and I have declined this. So Copernicus is a healthy male with normal urges. Unfortunately 98% of the females in this area have been "fixed" and no longer come into heat.
Last week we saw a female dog with Copernicus. He became a different man. I guess you could describe him as "a love sick puppy." He was escaping all the time to be with this female. She would even come around to see him.
Yesterday morning I took Copernicus for his morning walk along the beach. On the way back, he broke out of his harness and vanished for an hour and a half. After he returned home, both of our dogs became agitated. I looked outside in dread. It was not some stranger trying to sell something or some official with some sort of summons. It was the female dog that has became the love interest of Copernicus.
At that point I was in a quandary. Should I refuse to let Copernicus out to keep him out of trouble? Or should I let him out to have sex with his girl friend who was obviously "in heat." I gave the matter thought. If I was just sending him out to satisfy his carnal lust then I would have been exploiting the female dog and the curse of every woman around.
My experience with our ten year-old female dog Eloisa guided me. I first met Eloisa some 9 years ago when she was living in Buenos Aires. When she was still a young lady a little over a year old, she vanished for several hours one night. Elena was really worried and upset. Eloisa returned to the apartment around midnight. Several weeks later she gave birth to six puppies. Our neighbors were sure that the father was a male named Pancho. One day when I was walking Eloisa, Pancho came right up to us. There was love in his eyes. There was love in Eloisa's eyes. They both acted as if they knew each other in a special and intimate way that none of we humans would understand. That moment taught me that when dogs mate, it is not just carnal sex. It is a moment of love and sharing between the two animals that they both remember as long as they live.
With this knowledge in hand, I released Copernicus. He returned two hours later. Around five in the evening, I got some visitors at my front door. They were the human companions of the female love interest of Copernicus. They warned me that the dog was "in heat" and she was spending a lot of time with Copernicus. I acted surprised at the fact that their female dog was "in heat." I made the observation that Copernicus was too big to mount such a smaller animal. They left.
So what happens if the female dog is pregnant and has puppies. In a court action the judge would be very skeptical of the owners of the female because they did not lock her up while she was in heat. In Argentina, there would be no court case. The owners of the female dog would come by and demand that we take a couple of the puppies and make some small payment.
If the dog is pregnant, we would be delighted to take 1-2 puppies.
Copernicus is an intact male. He still has his testicles. Numerous veterinarians and other professionals have urged me to neuter the animal. Both Elena and I have declined this. So Copernicus is a healthy male with normal urges. Unfortunately 98% of the females in this area have been "fixed" and no longer come into heat.
Last week we saw a female dog with Copernicus. He became a different man. I guess you could describe him as "a love sick puppy." He was escaping all the time to be with this female. She would even come around to see him.
Yesterday morning I took Copernicus for his morning walk along the beach. On the way back, he broke out of his harness and vanished for an hour and a half. After he returned home, both of our dogs became agitated. I looked outside in dread. It was not some stranger trying to sell something or some official with some sort of summons. It was the female dog that has became the love interest of Copernicus.
At that point I was in a quandary. Should I refuse to let Copernicus out to keep him out of trouble? Or should I let him out to have sex with his girl friend who was obviously "in heat." I gave the matter thought. If I was just sending him out to satisfy his carnal lust then I would have been exploiting the female dog and the curse of every woman around.
My experience with our ten year-old female dog Eloisa guided me. I first met Eloisa some 9 years ago when she was living in Buenos Aires. When she was still a young lady a little over a year old, she vanished for several hours one night. Elena was really worried and upset. Eloisa returned to the apartment around midnight. Several weeks later she gave birth to six puppies. Our neighbors were sure that the father was a male named Pancho. One day when I was walking Eloisa, Pancho came right up to us. There was love in his eyes. There was love in Eloisa's eyes. They both acted as if they knew each other in a special and intimate way that none of we humans would understand. That moment taught me that when dogs mate, it is not just carnal sex. It is a moment of love and sharing between the two animals that they both remember as long as they live.
With this knowledge in hand, I released Copernicus. He returned two hours later. Around five in the evening, I got some visitors at my front door. They were the human companions of the female love interest of Copernicus. They warned me that the dog was "in heat" and she was spending a lot of time with Copernicus. I acted surprised at the fact that their female dog was "in heat." I made the observation that Copernicus was too big to mount such a smaller animal. They left.
So what happens if the female dog is pregnant and has puppies. In a court action the judge would be very skeptical of the owners of the female because they did not lock her up while she was in heat. In Argentina, there would be no court case. The owners of the female dog would come by and demand that we take a couple of the puppies and make some small payment.
If the dog is pregnant, we would be delighted to take 1-2 puppies.
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