The next time someone tries to tell me that cats are better than dogs, I’m going to point them to Capitán and Ciccio (aka Tommy) and ask them a simple question: Can you imagine your cat ever being this loyal?
According to a story in Italian media last week, Ciccio, a German shepherd, has become a local celebrity in San Donaci, Italy, because of his incredible devotion to the woman with whom he shared his life. Prior to her death last November, Ciccio escorted the woman to the Santa Maria Assunta church every afternoon, and waited for her to finish her devotions before escorting her home. The last time he accompanied her to the church was for her funeral, and the last time he saw her was when they carried her coffin away afterward.
Every day since then, Ciccio has turned up at the church shortly after the bells announcing services quit chiming, and sits by the altar until the devotions are completed. “We don’t have the heart to turn him away,” the priest said, and compassionate parishioners make sure he’s got food and water. The story I read suggested that Ciccio was a candidate for the Most Loyal Dog of the Year award, but also noted that the Most Loyal Dog of the Decade award would have to go to Capitán, who lives in Argentina.
When Miguel Guzmán died in 2006, his German shepherd, Capitán, ran away from home while the family was at the cemetery. A week later, when family members returned to the cemetery to pay their respects, there was the dog, sitting sentinel on his master’s grave, wailing in grief. He’s been there every day since, taking his post at dusk and remaining until dawn.
“I don’t think he wants to leave Miguel on his own at night,” a family member said.
That is remarkable, and heart-rending on its own, but even more remarkable is that Capitán found the grave in the first place, since the cemetery is several miles from where he was living with Guzmán. According to a story in the Mail Online, cemetery director Hector Baccega said he remembers the first time he saw Capitán. “He turned up here one day, all on his own, and started wandering all around the cemetery until he eventually found the tomb of his master,” Baccega said. “During the day he sometimes has a walk around the cemetery, but always rushes back to the grave. And every day, at six o’clock sharp, he lies down on top of the grave and stays there all night.”
Sometimes, staff at the cemetery leave him food and water, and sometimes he wanders back to his old home, where family members feed him and try to encourage him to stay. But he never does. Mr. Guzmán’s son, Damian, said: “I’ve tried to bring Capitán home several times, but he always comes straight back to the cemetery. I think he’s going to be there until he dies too. He’s looking after my dad.”
There are two great dogs lying at my feet as I write this today. Excuse me for a moment while I get them a treat. My columns about gun laws over the last few weeks drew a lot of response, some of it from the usual suspects, like Gary, who said: “Just tried to read your ‘sophomoronic’ article about those backward GOPers out thar in Wyoming. What a bunch of twits! Small wonder no one lives there. The enlightened prefer their bastions of Democratdumb like Detroit. Stop worrying about MSNBC and try thinking!”
Or Michael from Keyport, who said: “It was all I could do to get through your latest liberal diatribe, but now it’s in the recycling, where it belongs, and my stomach feels better already.”
I’m sorry if reading my thoughts is so painful to you, Michael, so here’s a suggestion. Quit reading them! Do it for your health and sanity! I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree with me, and it wouldn’t be much fun if they did, but I don’t want to make anyone sick. I quit listening to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and their ilk a long time ago because they had the same effect on me, and it was a remarkable improvement on my quality of life. (Just so you won’t think I’m being overly partisan, I quit reading Maureen Dowd at about the same time.) So quit torturing yourselves, Michael and Gary. I won’t take it personally.
Among all the responses and Second Amendment discussion, however, was a note from Larry with an idea about what at least one of our founding fathers might have thought about common sense modifications to our national gun laws: “Even our founding fathers knew that the Constitution would need to be ‘updated’ as the world changed,” he wrote. “On the wall of the Jefferson Memorial, [in] Washington, is one of his lesser known quotes: ‘I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and constitutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind as that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change. With the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.’”
Several times in recent weeks, I’ve read some Second Amendment “purist” quoting Jefferson, including this gem: “When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” Turns out, Jefferson never said that, but there’s no doubt he said what’s on his memorial. I wonder why nobody ever mentions that quote in this debate. Gregory Bean is the former executive editor of Greater Media Newspapers. You can reach him at [email protected].