04/12/2026
Don’t blame the dogs…blame the people with the whistles. 😙
I was enjoying an early morning walk through my neighborhood and as I turned the corner to go up the hill I saw a silhouette of a large dog lying down across the street. I should have turned around immediately, but curiosity got the better of me and I ventured forth, while increasing my pace. However, as I got closer, the large dog stood up, shook his head, and started to growl. The dog was a St Bernard.
I turned around to retreat, only to find that there were four dogs spread across the street, and they were running toward me. As I stood still in place, the four dogs strategically began surrounding me. I looked back to see if the St. Bernard was coming to rescue me, but it had disappeared...vamoose! I then realized that he had set me up. He was just a decoy. This was a planned operation to corner me.
There I was with a German Shepherd, Doberman, Rottweiler, and Pitbull surrounding me. I thought about running, but I immediately abandoned that idea because of the intense looks on their faces. I thought about my childhood dog, Brownie, and all the times I played with him and gave him treats. I wondered if those good deeds would save me now. Nevertheless, the bigness of the situation was overwhelming and I fainted.
The tickling feeling of pecks on my cheeks from a small bird woke me up. I saw the 4 dogs lying down 6 ft. away from me and each other. They practiced social distancing, while resting patiently. The German Shepard barked once and all the dogs stood up. He then began engaging me in a conversation.
- Hi Bydee, I hope we didn’t scare you...we were only trying to get your attention.
- You have my attention, and I am scared...what is going on?
- Firstly, let me put you at ease. We see you passing here every morning and Dan, the St. Bernard, organized this meet and greet.
- Meet and greet! This feels more like a confrontation to me...where did Dan go?
- Don’t worry about him. Trust me...you will see him again soon. Nevertheless, he is the one who told us about you. Again, I apologize...we didn’t mean to scare you.
- What do you all want with me?
- Bydee, we are quite aware of your reputation...and your commitment to making this a better world for all... However, we have a problem that is quite puzzling to us.
- What is the problem?
- Well, Dan said that he heard from a little bird that dogs are being accused of being racists...something about “Dog Whistling.”
- Yes!... I have heard that too... I am just as confused about it as you are! I think it’s disrespectful, inaccurate, and somewhat blasphemous! I must add.
- Are you? He then looked at the other dogs and said, “Dan was right... Bydee is a good person, and fair too!”
- Personally, I am confused because I have often heard dogs bark and sometimes growl...but whistling? No Sir!..and the connection to racism is absurd too! I have never met a racist dog myself.
- Well Bydee, that’s why we wanted to talk to you today.
- What do you want me to do...how can I help?
- You can write a story on your page that includes 1. Dogs are not racists, and 2. We definitely do not whistle. We are protective of our territory, owners, and especially children, so we growl and bark to discourage humans from getting close. Biting is a last resort...to handling a situation.
- “Should I give Bydee a little bite to make a point...just a nip on his left calf?” The pitbull chimed in. But the other three dogs looked at him and said in union “No!”
- I will happily write a story to share your concerns and do everything I can to let everyone know that dog whistling is a myth...a bad rap to boot!
Thank you Bydee...you may go now...have a nice walk and enjoy the rest of the day.
- Thanks all... I will!
As I reached the top of the hill, I looked to my right and there was Dan, the St. Bernard, with the little bird perched on his nose. The same bird that pecked my cheek earlier. Dan was quiet, but the little bird shouted out to me, “Say hello to Sally for us.” I am Melody, and the friends that you have already met are Tom, Rex, Ivy, and Shabby. We are all friendly with Sally. I was glad to know everyone’s name, in case I ran into them again.
I waved and kept walking. However, the mention of Sally spoke volumes to me. I recently heard that cats and dogs were getting along famously. But I didn’t know that birds were in the mix too. I have to run this info by Augie.😜
Anyhow, be advised that “Dogs don’t whistle and dogs have nothing to do with racism, but some of their owners might be...racists.
