Obama’s Dog Continues Tradition of Leaders who Love Dogs
Did a Dog Change the Course of The Entire World? I think it did. And I think dogs have played a quiet role in shaping the moods and personalities of many leaders and power brokers all over the globe for thousands of years. Let’s look at the heroics of Peritas, a dog reputed to have bravely exchanged his life for that of his master, a certain Alexander the Great. Leaders, it would seem, love dogs. Our own current premiere Gordon Brown doesn’t have a dog – make of that what you will – but he’s the exception, not the rule as a brief look at some of the most notable leaders the world has ever seen shows a clear link between them and man’s best friend. Here we begin an online-only series exclusive to DogMagazine.net: Leaders & Their Dogs…
Did a Dog Change the Course of The Entire World?
I love facts. I’m a trivia bore.
I also have an obsession – bordering on the unhealthy – with great leaders of ancient history.
The greatest of them all, it could be argued, was Alexander.
Alexander was my age (32) when he died. He had achieved a little more than me by then though.
OK. Fine. If you want to be petty about it, he’d achieved a great deal more than me – if you consider conquering the majority of the known world an achievement. I suppose we should consider it an achievement, especially as Alexander’s conquests laid the foundations for modern civilisation and brought together the continents of Europe and Asia.
Alexander The Great
It says a deal about Alexander to learn that the revered Roman leader Julius Caesar – at the age of 32 – is said to have fallen to his knees and wept at a statue of Alexander bemoaning his own lack of achievements in comparison – something he was about to put right in the coming years.
But Caesar’s adulation and history as we know it may have been very, very different had it not been for a dog.
For without his beloved canine sidekick, Peritas, Alexander the Great might have been Alexander the Average. When the formidable leader was overwhelmed by the army of Persia’s Darius III, Alexander’s faithful companion is said to have leapt and attacked an elephant that was in the process of leading a charge against his master.
Alexander subsequently survived the onslaught and lived to pursue his now immortal conquests. Western civilisation as we know it could have been altered immeasurably had that dog not risked his own life to save his friend.
Peritas was a Molossian – an ancient breed from which today’s modern Mastiffs are said to have descended. He followed Alexander throughout his epic conquests and risking his life in battle with his master was not a one off.
When Alexander was trapped alone on the wrong side of the Mallians fortification, his men were blocked from reaching their leader. Leonnatus, one of Alexander’s loyal officers, who was fighting fiercely for his own survival during the battle heard Peritas howl and bark from behind him, and without looking over his shoulder he shouted “go Peritas ! run to Alexander!” The fearless dog ran through a great gathering of men fighting and leapt into a group of Mallians who had just inflicted a serious javelin wound on Alexander. Peritas took down several men giving Alexander’s own troops the time they needed to reach their leader and prevent him from being killed in battle.
Peritas, however, had not been so lucky. In saving his great master he had been mortally wounded himself.
With his last strength he laid his head on the wounded king’s lap and passed away gazing into the eyes of his master.
This bravery and loyalty of a dog comes as little suprise to dog lovers the world over. The animal known as man’s best friend didn’t earn that tag by accident, he truly IS the friend of mankind and his role in the evolution and advancement of civilisation and society around the world should never be underestimated.
If a dog has changed the course of history before, who’s to say they won’t do it again?
It’s important, vitally important, we never forget what our dogs are prepared to do for us as humans. They can and do lay their lives down for ours – we must NEVER EVER fail to recognise their never ending loyalty and we must work to reward the role they have played in our lives for generation after generation.
It is even more ironic to acknowledge that some of the breeds that share a link in history to the great, brave, loyal Molossers of the past are now demonised and derided as ‘devil dogs’ by the misinformed. There are even those who seek to kill dogs based on nothing more than their heritage.
For those who have abused, neglected or momentarily ‘forgoten’ how dog’s deserve to be treated, they will NEVER be worthy of being called ‘great’. But the dog, history will recognise his greatness. Always.
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Peritas was a bitch, a female dog.
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