If you have any kind of animals this is a book for you but of course for all animal lovers. Dr Dolittle invited us to 'speak to the animals' and this is book that has the same message but maybe on another level. The initial story of the book is about the German shepherd Strongheart who
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| Strongheart |
was a famous movie dog in the 1920ies. He came to stay with the writer for some time and a very strong bond developed between the two. This was of course a very well trained dog and when you read about their time together he seems very human. Ah, but stop... this is exactly the point. Boone means that we humans always put ourselves above the animals and think ourselves superior. However, in the dealings with Strongheart the writer discovers time after time that the dog has his own private sphere and life which is on an equal level with himself. Mentally, we have to see each other as equal creatures and try to find the level where we can communicate with each other. Words are not always necessary although we often seem to think so. There are many fantastic stories in the book on how intelligent this dog was. You wish you had a dog like that to teach you a thing or two!
Having been very successful with Strongheart, Boone continues to investigate people who live very closely with their animals and seem to have a special bond, for example indians and their horses, bedouins and their camels and horses. They see their animals as equals and all of us have been created by a higher authority to understand each other. You have to open your mind to one another. You think though that to reach this universal language and understanding with animals it works with a dog like Strongheart. However, Boone tells in his book on how he managed to use this universal language of love to also capture the spirits of other animals. In the book he tells the stories how he befriended a skunk, ants, earthworms and Freddie the fly...!
This book came as a recommendation from my friend Yana who already have adopted a universal language with everything around here. She had a problem with mice in her kitchen. Everything had been tried to get rid of them, even a call to a company specialising in these kind of things. Nothing helped. After having read this book she took her time, sat down and talked with the mice and some time afterwards they had left her house! Exactly what happened with Boone and his ants which is described in the book. I therefore am now inclined to sit down in my garage, talk to the mice there in a friendly manner, tell them I love them but I don't really want them in my garage during the winter and maybe they should just try to find another resting place for the next winter! I will keep you posted!
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