Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Special family members

Friday, Dec. 6, 2002 | 8:59 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

PETER LANDERS, writing last month in The Wall Street Journal, reported on two studies featured in the journal Science. Landers writes:

"A new piece of the picture comes in today's issue of the journal Science, in which researchers suggest that the dog may have originated in East Asia, rather than Europe or the Middle East as commonly assumed. A second article in Science says genetic evidence shows dogs colonized the New World together with humans, trotting their way across the land bridge to Alaska some 12,000 years ago."

Later, in the same WSJ article, the following is revealed:

"Both of the Science papers confirm the results of earlier research that the various breeds of dogs today are virtually identical in genetic terms both to each other and to wild gray wolves, despite their vastly different appearances. ..."

This information made me rush home and take a close look at my friends Wesley and Georgie Girl. Wes is an amiable 100 lb. German shepherd and Georgie is a small dachshund. They may be related but I sure can't find many similarities in looks.

Since Wes joined our family last spring he has taken over as Georgie's protector. He came off the streets of Los Angeles and she has been raised as a special household pet since birth. It took a couple of months before the bond between them developed but it has become stronger every day. Sometimes he plays a little too rough for her so she jumps in my lap until everything quiets down. Later in the evening he believes it's his prerogative to also sit in my lap, even if both ends of him hang over the sides of our big chair. Leo and Harry Dog, who live next door, liven things up when they come to visit.

As a dog lover and owner since my boyhood on a farm, I have had several dog friends. My first pal was a working dog who helped me bring in the cattle and also hunt squirrels. Sally was a spunky wirehaired terrier who would hunt all day and then work long after dark looking for stray cows. She was really special and brought comfort during winter nights when snuggling at my feet.

I had a couple of other dogs during those years on the farm. Doc, a German shepherd, and Big Red, an Irish setter. Red was a bird hunter but one Sunday we came home from church to find several dead chickens on the porch. Red sat beside them wagging his tail much as to say, "Look what I did." He had a new owner a few days later.

Georgie isn't our first dachshund. My daughter, Colleen, brought Gretchen home. As time went on the little girl dog became my friend. She loved sitting on my shoulder and going to sleep when I was watching television.

Wes also isn't the first German shepherd for our family in Nevada. Our first German shepherd, Lady, was taken from a local dog pound by our son Brian. She was 12 years old at the time and stayed with us when our son was in the Army for six years. Before he left for military service, she rode in his pickup truck at various construction jobs. Our back yard, after dark, was Lady's domain and she let us know about any intruders, much like Wes and Georgie do today. Lady was 22 years old when she died.

Later came Tango, a longhaired German shepherd, who settled right in as a family member and lived with us for almost 17 years. Lady taught her all of her good habits the few years they were together.

This column isn't long enough to write about Ponyo, Samantha I and II, Tinker, Red Dog, Charlie and Sebastian. Some were great hunters and retrievers and others were just lovely pets and family members. There were also two poodles, Joey and Georgette, that Grandma brought to live with us. No matter how stressful the day, everything is okay when the family dogs run up to greet you.

Maybe, just maybe, the researchers are correct when they write that our dogs are "virtually identical in genetic terms." My experience has taught me that all of our family dogs have brought their love with them. They may look different, and sometimes act different, but the love they share is "virtually identical."