DR HUEY at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is an awesome fella. Imagine, my neighbour Jamie and I found a dog in distress. Rosie across the road said the dog had a mind that Jamie and I can’t resist animals, so it decided to stroll over to our side of the gap. Anyway, we made a phone call to the good doctor. The dog was shaky and suspicious, kinda like me whenever I pass through certain streets at night.
It was way past my bedtime. Nonetheless, Dr Huey was wide awake and awaiting us. In his characteristic shirt-jack and short pants, revealing his cute legs, Dr Huey attended to the little creature. Tenderness and care. I think those two things make him who he is. Oh, and passion you – can’t forget passion. I salute Dr Huey and all the wonderful people at the RSPCA today. You all put the “human” in “humanity” when it comes to animals.
So, it’s been over two months now; and in spite of posters, Facebook postings and door-to-door visits, no owner has come forward for the dog. I mean, I have evangelical training, so the house-to-house thing wasn’t so bad; but cuhdear, I had to say I wondered if the people peeping at me from their windows really thought they were invisible. Their loss. If any of you hiding people lost your dog, well . . . you lost it. I knocked on your doors, said “hello” from the other side; and you didn’t answer.
So, I am one dog richer. She’s a cutie-patootie, with a small overbite. Which brings me to the topic of dog teeth.
Now, I never thought about this topic until I saw an ad for doggy braces. I never held the underbites or overbites in mind, with regard to dogs. In fact, I’ve had more than a few actual bites from dogs and never even held that against them.
Truth is, we use exclamations like “dog bite muh” and “dog-eat-dog world” and so forth, but perhaps never once stopped to check on the alignment of the canine choppers in question. So, some orthodontist – perfectionists that they are – came up with the corrective canine concept. The ad says, “Got braces? Now your doggie can empathise with you!”
At the side of that smart remark is a photo of a furry little puppy, wearing braces. I mean . . . come on!
You probably never wore braces, but I did. I could tell you that the pain is worse than a serious belly gripe. You can’t eat or even sleep, because of the molar movement that slowly occurs to correct your bite over time. So, why would I want to subject a poor dog to that type of treatment?
Just let the dogs be!
The extra dog I now have (her name is Bolty, by the way, since she could give Usain a run for his money) has a slight overbite, but I find it endearing.
Tell me the truth: would you really invest in doggy braces? If so, when the dog gets older, what would you do? Ask the dentist for doggy dentures?!?
Veoma Ali is an author, broadcaster, advertising exec and, most important, a karaoke lover.