There was a man who had gotten a dog. He decided that he would teach the dog to retrieve the newspaper every morning so that he would not have to. For weeks the man took the dog outside every morning, placed the newspaper in the dogs mouth and then had the dog follow him inside to the kitchen table where he would then sit, take up a cup of coffee, then take the newspaper from the dog, open it and read it. Weeks went by doing this very task.
One day the Man woke up, let the dog out and went to make his morning coffee. The dog came running into the kitchen with the newspaper in its mouth, wagging its tail. The man took the newspaper from the dog and then spanked the dog with the newspaper because it had holes from the dogs teeth and slobber on it.
(patience is a tool that is needed in many aspects of our lives. I often see parents scolding their kids for nothing more than the fact the parent had little or no patience. I understand that one should not judge another unless you’ve walked a day in their shoes but I also bet that this dog does not bring the newspaper to the kitchen again) (~_~)
we must exercises our compassion for ignorance.
by Art~
6 comments
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September 12, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Brio Keegan
This is a well-crafted story. I can’t comment on the “roundness” of the entire thing, and the irony of the scenario. Definitely, we should exercise compassion for ignorance, but I’d like to add that comes in the form of education — much like what you’re doing here. Nice lesson!
September 12, 2011 at 2:29 pm
angelasoelzerragosa
You are so right! I have two daughters and can honestly say I didn’t resort to corporal punishment as a form of behavior modification; it just didn’t make sense to me. I am now the proud owner of a mutt that I adopted last year (Duke) and would never even consider striking my dog. I have very little patience with people who use this way of punishing… and yes I suppose it is out of ignorance or the result of wanting to feel control over a child or an animal although anytime I witness this type of behavior my first thought is “wow, they’re really out of control AND out of line. Thanks for posting this!
September 13, 2011 at 10:16 am
workingonthemindbodyandspirit
What a good story! I just recently got my first dog and I can absolutely say that he is putting my patience and compassion to the test. But he is still my love.
Thank you for this story! I’ll remember it everytime he has one of his “accidents.”
November 26, 2011 at 7:20 pm
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