Every evening, a group of Dogs meets under the old oak tree to discuss matters of importance.
Their Special Relationship with The Owners is a regular subject.
Another, hardly surprising, is cats (please note the small 'c').
But topics as far-ranging as Advertising, Space Travel and Social Networking all receive their unique canine insight.
Here, then, are the conversations of Whitman, Pippa, Anton, Butch, Malcolm and Obi.
It has been my pleasure to write them down.
- Nick da Costa, 2017
Dogs are our oldest, closest companions.
They're also our keenest observers, well aware of our strengths, our weaknesses and our frequently weird behaviour.
We may be The Owners (as they refer to us) but they regard themselves as equal partners in what they call The Great Owner/Dog Enterprise that began in the dawn of time, when the first Wolves slipped out of the forest to enjoy the warmth of the fire…and sausages.
Much of what we do leaves them in awe, but they are often puzzled by how easily some of us can be fooled.
By cats, in particular.
The Dogs have little time for them. Mainly because - in Malcolm's words 'they never do a stroke of work.'
Whitman expands on this: 'It's not that I dislike cats as such, it's just that I don't quite see the point of them.'
The Dogs are, of course, in total awe at our technological and scientific accomplishments, but at the very top of this list, unchallenged, is the Sofa.
But they are not so flattering about our poor senses: in particular our useless sense of smell and poor hearing. In this respect, they rightly regard themselves as superior, knowing full well that we could never have made it this far without them.
'I shudder every time my Owner goes out alone,' says Butch.
