Gervase Phinn: Woof justice for dogs

"It is the way they are treated and trained," he informed me. "Show a dog kindness, firmness and affection, and it will be the most wonderful companion."

The vet's talk was, indeed, in celebration of man's best friend and full of interesting, and, for me, hitherto unknown facts about our canine friends. Dogs, for example, are extremely sensitive creatures with well-developed senses of smell and eyesight. They know if you have jogged around the block, just eaten a meal, smoked a cigarette or had sex. They can smell our emotions, sense our stress, be aware of our fear.

In addition, they can smell the chemicals indicating disease. Trained dogs, he claimed, can not only detect drugs and explosives but also cancers of the skin, breast, lungs and bladder.

I did explain to my fellow speaker that I appreciated that not all dogs are like the Hound of the Baskervilles. It was just that I had been attacked a number of times when I was boy delivering papers and, later, as a student posting the Christmas mail, and was deeply suspicious of them. One particular large black beast would chase me along the road as

I cycled.

"Had you stopped," the vet told me, "this would have stopped the dog in its tracks because the chasing impulse triggered by the visual cells that detected the movement would let up."

I did agree with the vet on another point, that a dog can be a caring and comforting companion. Our dog, a gentle-natured and empathetic German Pointer, was such a comfort for my mother, particularly when my father died. He would follow her around the house as if concerned for her welfare, rub his body against her legs when she stood in the kitchen and rest his head on her lap when she sat. When she cried, he would join in and whine. He was greatly loved and sadly missed when

he died.

"Petting a dog," said the vet, "reduces a person's nervous tension within minutes, reducing rising blood pressure, a racing heart and perspiration, the conditions associated with stress. Levels of endorphins, the hormones that make us feel good, increase when we're with affectionate dogs, and cortisol, the stress hormone, goes down."

The week following the literary lunch, my son, Dominic, returned from a bicycle ride around the village in a temper to inform me the Jack Russell terrier had again chased him along the road by the duck pond.

"Had you stopped," I told him, armed with my new-found knowledge, "this would have stopped the dog in its tracks because the chasing impulse triggered by the visual cells that detected the movement would let up."

He looked at me for a moment before replying: "On your bike!"

YP MAG 5/6/10