My Landseer boy Ruggles had an early morning semi-routine medical appointment necessitating our navigating our way through Sydney’s clogged morning peak “hour” traffic. The appeal of sitting in a car going near nowhere for seeming hours at a time is lost on me, however it is a pastime that attracts countless thousands to this ritual morning and afternoon. At least there was a patient Newfoundland with me making the stop start traffic bearable.
As we neared our destination at Parramatta we pulled up at a major set of traffic lights to turn off the busy main road, we were first car there too. On the footpath were fifteen or so people walking to work but then stopped waiting to cross the busy intersection when their turn came. All were rugged up against the winter cold here in Australia. All wore glum, blank expressions on their faces. All looking sullenly uncomprehendingly straight ahead. Each with a deliberate five or six feet of “space” between them and the next person.
As we waited, more pedestrians arrived adopting similar poses and positions – only briefly looking about, as one does, before they too stared blankly and glumly ahead.
When looking around, one of the new arrivals spotted Ruggles sitting up in the back of his car and a stony face broke into a big spontaneous grin. Another new arrival also saw Ruggles and smiled broadly making some comment which had others standing there looking over at the boy, and as they each saw Ruggles, they started smiling or grinning, some pointed and others made comments. Slowly the little crowd started moving closer together pointing and sharing comments – which unfortunately I could not hear. This little crowd quickly went from being twenty or so glum disinterested individuals, each guarding their own “space”, isolating themselves from each other; to become twenty or so people all smiling some laughing, all interacting, enjoying each other, sharing thoughts. Their “natural defenses, their “preconceptions”, their “fears” all melted when seeing Ruggles sitting up in the back of his car, huge Newfy grin on his face while looking back at them. And when the traffic lights eventually changed and these people crossed the road in front of us, they were still happy, commenting to each other, still looking at Ruggsy, still with big smiles on then cheerful faces – some even waved and called out tothe boy!
It is that sort of involuntary reaction that Ruggles brings to people, that Newfoundlands bring to people, that really sets them apart from “lesser” canine breeds. An inner glow filled me at the happiness and goodwill the boy brought a group of total strangers, just from their seeing “His Lordship”. And I could imagine them telling others during the day of the improbably HUGE puppy they saw sitting up in the back of a tiny car while waiting at the traffic lights.
Arthur Witten
Ruggles – They were smiling at me dad, but laughing at you!!!!