Four Levels of Sheb's Hobby

Literal Comprehension:               

                This story by a British writer and veterinarian James Herriot is about a dog’s hobby of fiercely barking at visitors and the reaction that hobby brought about. Under the topic ‘actions and consequences,’ the text deals with Herriot’s action of warning Shep not to bark at him, and the consequences of obedience from it. One day, Mr. Herriot, the veterinarian and also the writer, went to Mr. Bailes’s home for the treatment of his cow Rose which was suffering from a terrible stomach disease. While he was totally occupied with his thoughts, he was suddenly attacked by a terrible explosion of sound. It was Shep, Bailes’s pet dog. Herriot was very much terrified. Anyway, he went to the cow and treated it with a lavage. Next day, he went to see if the cow was okay. While he was on the way to Bailes on the green grass, he once again had to face the same tragedy. The dog barked at him so fiercely and suddenly that he felt it might cause the evacuation of his entrails. He tolerated and went to see the cow’s condition. He dragged Shep by catching his chain and threatened him not to repeat the violent attack from the next time. When he was called once again by Bailes next month, first to his surprise and later to his agony, the dog did not even bark from a distance. Rather, it pulled itself back by seeing Herriot there. He felt very bad for stealing the pleasure of an animal. But he consoled himself after he saw instantly the similar attack of Shep that made the pot-mender run away by scattering the pots and pans he was carrying.

Interpretation:

                The story can be interpreted to mean that even the animals are not only conscious but also sensitive about what to do and what not to do. They do different things for their pleasure but only till they think their act has not done anything wrong. Shep seemed like very fierce animal to Herriot in the beginning and he feared him to death. But as he stopped even to bark at him when he threatened him, Herriot understood sensitivity of Shep. It was only Herriot to whom Shep would not bark. So we can say that he was conscious about what to do and what not to. The text might also be trying to tell us that we human beings should be highly sensitive about not killing the pleasures of animals for our comfort. We must rather be conscious about the consequences of our actions. If Herriot could have been conscious about the probable consequences of his action of threatening Shep, he would not have done so.

Critical Thinking:

The story is interesting to catch the attention of the readers. It is successful even in conveying some important ideas. But some points are still there where we can pose questions. Some of them are: Can a seriously sick cow run at a notable speed? Is it possible, without any reason, for Bailes to be highly faithful to Herriot’s skill while he had already made fun of him by saying that it was Jim Oakley, instead of him, who cured the cow successfully? Do animals enjoy by terrifying human beings? Can a dog understand human’s warning and act as expected even after months?

Assimilation:

Reading this story once again made me aware about the notable level of intelligence and consciousness in animals. It also taught me that it is better to think about the probable consequences before our certain actions. Moreover, I am reminded of one incident of my life when I was severely attacked by a dog and intolerably bitten. Ever after then, whenever I hear the voice and see the movement of the dog, I fear to death. Even in the case when people assure that the dog is friendly, I cannot be friendly to it. I even cannot be nearby it. The dog has been my weakness since then. Shep reminded me of the most terrible dog of my life.