Daily Dawgs: Introducing Rufus

Here at SIUC, our school mascot is the sleek Saluki and many of us show our school spirit as proud members of the Dawg Pound. It makes sense when you stop to think; dogs are human’s best friend, after all. I have talked to many of my fellow students who have told me they’ve sadly had to leave their beloved pets at home when they came to SIU. That breaks my heart because I understand the deep bond between a human and their doggo.

In the spirit of puppy love, I would like to share my little dog, Rufus, with the Daily Egyptian readership in a new weekly column, Daily Dawgs. Here you will hear about his life, his shenanigans and all things dog from his perspective with the occasional tidbit of interesting information from myself. Without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce Rufus.

Hi guys! My name’s Rufus, as my mom already mentioned. Her real name is Erica, but to me she’s just Mom.

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Where to start?

I’m seven years old, going to be eight in May, we think. My mom’s friend found me in her yard when I was just a tiny puppy, so we don’t know what day I was born. Mom says I was “little bitty,” and I just take her word for it. Mom’s friend couldn’t find out where I came from, so she put my picture on Facebook, and that’s where my mom first got a peek at all the handsomeness I have going on. But I got off topic.

I’m 21 pounds of solid muscle and adorableness with mostly white fur, patches of brindle and the cutest little floppy ears. At least, that’s what my Mom says. She can be embarrassing sometimes. I only own up to the solid muscle part. Well, I’m adorable, too. And believe me when I say, I use it to my advantage!

Mom also says that I’m her emotional support Rufus, and whew – that’s a big job! But we’re great at it, and one time my Mom told me why! Something about stuff that some scientists were doing to learn more about how dogs and humans bond. My mom teaches me lots of cool stuff all the time! I don’t remember the details about this thing, so I’ll let her tell you and then we’ll get back to me.

Research scientists have been studying the relationship between humans and their dogs more and more in recent years.

One scholarly review of recent research into the human-dog bond, published in partnership between the University of Sydney and La Trobe University in Australia, said, “In particular, both positive attitudes and affiliative behavior seem to contribute to a strong dog–human bond, as is apparently confirmed by hormonal changes that emerge in both dyad members. This illustrates the benefits that can ensue from successful dog–human relationships and should inspire the cultivation of such relationships.”

In a 2009 special issue on comparative cognitive studies, the Japanese Psychological Research journal published an article on the attachment between humans and dogs with the following finding, “These results indicated that presenting the owners as stimuli activated the autonomic system in dogs more than when strangers were presented; this suggests that dogs can not only discriminate between owners and strangers, but also exhibit emotional responses when reunited with their owners.”

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Ok, now back to me.

Where was I? Oh, jobs! I have lots of jobs. We live out in the country, so it’s my job to patrol the property and enforce security measures. It’s one of my favorites!

See, being out in the country with lots of trees means tiny woodland creatures and neighbor dogs pass through our yard.

Oh, the smells! I can’t even begin to describe them. I’ve smelled rabbits, cats, deer, lots of different kinds of birds, frogs, flying and hopping insects. Do you guys know about lighting bugs? The ones with the light-up butts? They’re the coolest! I like to try to catch them in my mouth!

More recently, we’ve had an intruder that my mom calls an armadillo. I’ve never heard of it, but I know what it smells like! The battle for my turf is ongoing, so more on the armadillo another time.

I also check my correspondence several times a day during my security patrols. I don’t have e-mail or Instagram, but I do have p-mail and scentagrams. See, my mom’s mom, I call her Maimie, has dogs too, and we leave messages to each other around the yard. That’s how dogs do social media.

The neighbor dog also leaves messages, which is irritating, and I always respond in no uncertain terms to stay off my lawn! But he keeps coming back! More on that another time.

Another job I have is as a sanitation engineer. If someone drops food, I clean it up! It’s that simple.

My mom’s dad, I call him Poppy, is a mechanic, and he has a gigantic shop in our backyard. Mom says it’s the size of a barn, but you couldn’t prove it to me. In his shop, he works on big tractors and other farming stuff, and sometimes I help him turn the wrenches. That’s mechanic lingo for: fix the problem.

I’m out of time right now, but next week I want to tell you about the day I met my mom. Boy, that was a great day!

Love,

Rufus

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