Fur furious

I had to wait at the DLR for nearly 30 minutes for a train running every 3 because a DOG was in the tunnel and had to be removed. I suspect this means I will miss the last entrance to my final destination.

At the moment I see nothing good in dogs.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in SESSIUNCULA. Bookmark the permalink.

27 Comments

  1. RichR says:

    At the moment I see nothing good in dogs.

    LOL! FrZ, don’t turn into a dog hater. See the story below….

    http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=dog+saves+boy&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#

  2. Angels Stole my Phonebox says:

    lol Fr Z I have had regular problems with both rail transport and my neighbours’ dogs…. welcome to the UK!!

  3. Cory says:

    trains seem to dog you at every turn.

  4. Volpius says:

    Its not the dogs fault father, its either the fault of irresponsible owners or of the local government for cutting funding to the local dog catchers leading ti an increase in the number of strays roaming the streets.

  5. David Andrew says:

    Moreover, the dog licked his wounds.

  6. mbd says:

    Perhaps the dogs only need to be better trained.

  7. William of the Old says:

    Patience, Father. It’s an Ember Day; offer it up.

  8. Howard says:

    But the dog had to return to its vomit!

  9. JL says:

    Better than the trains that couldn’t run because there were leaves on the track.

  10. Dogs are still out of favor.

  11. Fr Francis Coveney says:

    I hope it wasn’t a canis domini.

  12. Charivari Rob says:

    (Train Conductor on public address system) “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to be at a stop here for a few minutes.”

    (Passenger) Lots of dark corners and hiding places down here. How will you get the dog out?

    “We’ve sent for a liturgist. He’ll walk through the tunnel ahead of us, talking.”

    Talking? About what?

    “Just about anything, really. Chancel screens, Council of Trent, Pope Benedict’s favorite shoes, Pius V’s singing voice – it doesn’t matter what-all.”

    This really works?

    “Oh, yes! Hardly any living creature can stand it for long. They run to get away from it. Well, anything except other liturgists, that is. They use it to home in on each other. It can lead to awful fights when two or more gather and argue about their pet theories, but fortunately, this isn’t their natural habitat.”

    “Anyway, yes, it works very well. We use this method all the time. In fact, we used it just yesterday to chase out a dog.”

    I wonder why the poor dog was in the tunnel in the first place.

    “Oh, we set the dog loose in the tunnel.”

    Why?

    “To chase the cats out.”

    What were the cats doing there?

    “We sent them in to shift the rats.”

    Well, I suppose rats are to be expected in tunnels like this.

    “Actually, we had sent in the rats, as well.”

    Why in God’s name would you do something like that?

    “Well, we had to get rid of yesterday’s liturgist somehow.”

  13. Jimbo says:

    Ah, but Father, dogs are so like us! Blissfully ignorant of the fact that we’re holding all creation hostage by our transgressions, until someone comes to save us. After all, God could have let the train run us over, but He didn’t. Now you’ll have a story to tell not unlike the Angels in our regard: Namely, that you were waylayed from your “final destination” by flesh and bone…or a drooling tongue framed in fur. Rejoice!

  14. Paul Stokell says:

    I guess you are mad at both dogs and Englishmen.

  15. Kradcliffe says:

    Maybe the dog was chasing a squirrel?

  16. Maureen says:

    The moral of the story:

    Sometimes life runs on rails.
    Sometimes it’s just ruff.

  17. Still irritated with dogs even today.

  18. Aine says:

    I thought it might cheer you up Father…:)

  19. Jimbo says:

    Fr. Z,

    Perhaps a different tack would be effective for travelers in the future:

    http://www.peoplecorporation.org/post_images/1585_Dog_Train.jpg

    If that doesn’t scare ’em off, nothing will!

    Jimbo

  20. Jane says:

    I do not like dogs. One of my friends told me to invoke St Roch, if I was accosted by one in the street and the dog would go away. When next I met one of these ugly brutes, I went to pieces and forgot the name of the saint who was going to rescue me from the dog.

  21. It is Sunday now and my benevolence toward dogs has not returned.

  22. Patrick says:

    Father,

    Your newly acquired antipathy to our canine friends is most vexing. Surely you can find some forgiveness for the offender. Do not lump all of dogdom in the same pile with the ill bred or willful.

    Remember, the root of the name Dominic has some connection with being “God’s Dog”.

    So for all those Domini Cane out there, give em a break.

  23. Patrick: The name Dominic comes from Latin Dominus, “Lord”. And I could even get irritated at Dominicans for a while for their mere connection with the “dogs of the Lord” after that awful problem on Friday.

  24. Dear Fr. Z. (Father, bless!):

    One must admit that dogs are all very well in their place. It’s just that their place is not in a train tunnel.

    And hats off to Aine, for putting up a link to Noel Coward’s brilliant work, Mad Dogs and Englishmen.

  25. Charivari Rob says:

    Father Z. – “It is Sunday now and my benevolence toward dogs has not returned.”

    You’ve taken some time to be annoyed about dogs. Have you taken any yettime to be thankful?

    In the course of your recent travels…

    – you went through many transportation centers and systems where your security was provided for, in part, by trained dogs.

    – in the streets and subways you probably passed blind people with guide dogs.

    – you probably passed near the site of at least one past terrorist attack or natural disaster. Who helped find the victims? Search and rescue dogs.

    – you probably passed a hospital or nursing home that uses therapy dogs.

    – you probably passed children whose parents teach them about love and responsibility in caring for their pet (or being wise enough to refuse to get one if they know their child isn’t responsible enough yet)

    – you probably passed some senior citizen whose only earthly companion is their dog.

    You were at the tail end of a mixed business and pleasure trip (and you’ve been fortunate enough in life to be able to follow your calling and have a business in which you evidently take great pleasure). Even on the ‘business’ days of your trip, you’ve been able to take a little time to sightsee and/or nosh and meet friends old and new.

    You were sightseeing and might have missed one thing you wanted to see. You weren’t late for work. You weren’t rushing to a sick friend in the hospital. You didn’t spend three days in the belly of a whale. You didn’t spend forty years in the desert.

    Some railroad employees could have hid behind the faceless corporate charge to keep the trains running no matter what. Instead, they showed a little love for one of God’s creatures.

    It’s been two or three days, Father. You’re called upon to pass along God’s forgiveness to humans, who do wrong when they’ve been given the ability to know better. Can you find it in yourself to forgive one poor, scared, lost dog?

Comments are closed.