MORE ADVICE FROM DEKKER
Dekker is a British black lab whose gifts for giving advice emerged when he sat around every day with the restrictions of the pandemic. He was born to serve and trained by prison inmates in a program set up by NEADS in Massachusetts.
Tyrone Struggles With His Weight
Dear Dekker,
My wife tells me that I am putting on too much weight.
It happens every year and she wants me
to lose the extra pounds before summer.
I don’t do well with diets because
there is so much good food within easy reach.
Do you think joining a gym would help?
Thank you, Tyrone
Woof, Tyrone!
I hear you. I am a big man myself. My person watches over my weight because she loves me a lot. I bet your person loves you too.
Do you ever beg for food? I am not allowed to do that but I try to make myself very lovable when it is mealtime.
I grab my dish in my teeth when the clock strikes the hour and she says the magic word. “Dish”. Then I do my high-stepping happy dance.
She is the one who measures my food and I want her to know how grateful I am.
Perhaps your person would be willing to measure your food and you could learn the “happy dish-dance” to show her your gratitude.
As to the gym? Why not?! Or for the same money, you could get yourself a dog and walk him every day. Good luck. Woof Woof!
William Asks Dekker About Discrimination
Dear Dekker,
Have you ever experienced discrimination?
I was born with dwarfism and people will say “how cute”
(I hate that!) I am. They talk to me as if I were four years old.
I wish just once I could stretch tall enough to look them in the eye.
I would blacken it if I could reach it.
Thanks for letting me get this off my chest!
(My name is William but people call me Little Willy.)
Woof woof, William. I have a friend named Tiny Tim who is a miniature poodle with no tail. People are always asking if he is a puppy and how big he will be when he grows up.
At ten years old it is safe to say he is already a ‘grown-up.’ I would want to yip and bite if I were him and people spoke to me that way.
That is unless I had been trained as a service dog. Tiny Tim is a ‘hearing’ dog for someone who is deaf.
He doesn’t have a tail to wag, but he is good at his job of alerting his person to ringing phones, doorbells and alarm clocks.
Service dogs get a lot of respect because they are so well trained.
What is it that you are an expert at?
Can you go to school to become even better? If you can’t wow them with your tail, knock their socks off with your brilliance.
Woof! That’s what I say. Woof, Woof!
Dorothy Wonders About Dreaming Dogs
Dear Dekker,
Do dogs dream?
My weimaraner twitches in her sleep
and her legs move as if she were running somewhere.
I am glad she doesn’t walk in her sleep,
but I always wonder what you dogs dream about.
And do you have nightmares?
Thank you, Dorothy
Woof, Dorothy,
Yes, dogs dream pretty much the way people do. Sometimes I am playing with other dogs or chasing squirrels.
Other times I am alerting my person to danger I can see in my dream.
I suppose people might call that a nightmare, but I just accept it for what it is…an opportunity to serve.
That’s what I do best. I bark to stop the danger. That usually wakes me up.
I’ll check on my person, turn around three times to make sure nothing is wrong, and then go back to sleep. Woof
Wilber Feels Jilted in Love
Dear Dekker,
My girlfriend just broke up with me for no reason at all.
I gave her everything she wanted, took her to the best restaurants and movies,
and complimented her cooking…which really isn’t all that good.
I just want her to make her happy. What can I do?
Thank you, Wilbur
Woof, Wilbur, woof… You can’t MAKE her happy, Wilbur. Happiness comes from her insides.
Some people seem to have a way of biting the hand that feeds them.
They are not bad people. But they are afraid of losing the little piece of joy they have.
Some dogs are like that with a bone. It may be because they had been neglected or abused as a pup.
Give them a chance and they will eat the Sunday roast right off the table.
It takes a long time and a lot of love and patience to gain trust for such a one as this.
If you are not prepared for her just the way she is I would suggest finding yourself a Golden Retriever. They are much easier to please. Woof Woof
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