🐕 K’s COLUMN 054 : 犬のジョン
うちにはシェパードの大型犬がいた。
調教師に躾をしてもらった犬で、とても賢かった。
餌もよく食べた。
毎朝、鍋で肉を煮込んだものを与える。
ジョン専用の冷蔵庫があり、週一回肉屋が配達してくれた。
ジョンの餌は大抵家政婦が与えていたが、彼女が休みの時は私や弟が与えていた。
妹は犬が怖いと言って、決して近寄ることがなかった。
もちろん母がジョンに近づくわけがない。
散歩は一日一回、父か私か弟が付き添っていた。
ジョンは力も強かったので、うっかりしているとリードを引っ張られ、油断して手を緩めるとダッと駆け出す。
速いので、追いかけるのも容易ではない。
散歩の途中、よその犬とすれ違っても吠えることはないし、人を見ても特別反応することはない。
人のいない河川敷あたりに来て放すと、全速力で走り回り、満足すると戻ってくる。
だから、ジョンの散歩は比較的楽だったともいえる。
そして家の敷地内に入ってきた他人にジョンは吠えた。
だから、門でチャイムを鳴らす前にジョンが吠えて知らせてくれるのだ。
そんなある日の朝、庭のバラの木が根こそぎ掘り起こされていた。
家ではちょっとした大騒ぎとなった。
夜不審者が侵入してくれば、必ずジョンが吠えるからだ。
しかしジョンは吠えなかった。
なぜだろうか。
もしかして家を出入りする何者かがジョンをうまく手なづけて、吠えないようにさせておいて、その隙にバラの木を根こそぎ運んだのかもしれない。
憶測なのでなんとも言えない。
ジョンがバラの木を盗んだ人を見たのかどうかも不明だ。
そしてその時に警察に通報すればよかったものを通報もせず、家の中のものは何も盗られていないから一件落着、そんな雰囲気だった。
ジョンはどう思ったのだろうか？
スヌーピーのように哲学的なことを考えて、
「ヤレヤレ」
と思ったことだろうか？
もしかしたら、餌付け作戦か？
あり得ない話ではない。
極上の肉を差し出せば、もしかしたら教えてくれたかもしれない。
あれから50年近くになる。
天国へ行ったジョンに真相を聞くことは、もうできないのである。
🇬🇧 English version below
🐕 K’s COLUMN 054 : Who Was John Protecting?
We had a large German Shepherd named John.
He had been professionally trained, and he was an exceptionally intelligent dog.
John had a healthy appetite.
Every morning, we cooked a pot of meat just for him.
He even had his own refrigerator, and once a week the local butcher delivered fresh meat to our house.
Our housekeeper usually fed him, but on her days off, my brother or I took over.
My younger sister was terrified of dogs and never went anywhere near him.
And of course, my mother wouldn’t go near John either.
John was walked once a day by my father, my brother, or me.
He was incredibly strong.
If you weren’t paying attention, he’d yank the leash with surprising force.
Loosen your grip for even a second, and he’d take off running.
He was so fast that catching him wasn’t easy.
Oddly enough, he never barked at other dogs during walks, nor did he pay much attention to people.
When we reached an open riverside with no one around, we’d let him off the leash.
He would sprint around at full speed, and once he’d had enough exercise, he’d come right back.
In that sense, walking John was actually quite easy.
At home, however, it was a different story.
If a stranger stepped onto our property, John barked immediately.
Most of the time, we knew someone had arrived before they even had a chance to ring the doorbell.
Then one morning, something strange happened.
One of the rose bushes in our garden had been dug up and stolen.
The whole family was shocked.
If an intruder had entered our property during the night, John should have barked.
But he hadn’t.
Why not?
Perhaps someone who was familiar with our house had managed to win John’s trust beforehand, making sure he stayed quiet while the rose bush was carried away.
Of course, that’s nothing more than speculation.
Whether John actually saw the thief remains a mystery.
Looking back, we probably should have called the police.
But since nothing inside the house had been stolen, everyone simply accepted it and moved on.
I often wonder what John was thinking.
Was he, like Snoopy, having some philosophical thoughts and quietly saying to himself,
“Oh, brother…”
Or…
perhaps the thief had simply bribed him with food.
It’s not impossible.
Offer a dog a piece of premium meat, and who knows?
Maybe John would have told us everything.
Nearly fifty years have passed since then.
John has long since crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and now there’s no way to ask him what really happened.