Tayside police dog

To-day is the middlemost day of the year, as many days have passed, as our left to come this year. Not much, but a curious and trivial note. I had no particular thing I was planning to type. But, last night, because of the quickness information travels, I heard and saw, that, the cute advertisement above, had set off the mohammedan anger alarm.

Now, Tayside contains Dundee in Scotland, and Scotland within Britain. Dundee sits on the Firth of Tay. Historically, the town is known for the Jacobite, Bonnie Dundee, and for marmalade.

They employ hounds in their constabulary. They are promoting their german shepherd pup, Rebel, in public relations. A clever and pleasant action. He is available on their public computer site. One would think, this would be welcomed by the community. They had grade school (Saint Ninian’s, though in eastern Scotland, they do have many of the auld faith) children name the animal. He has appeared on placards and/or postcards informing the public of a new telephone.

It is proverbial that the anglais and, by extention, all britons really like dogs. Dogs and horses make marvelous good will ambassadors, and they, often, make the people around them better. Sounds as it would be a simple success, but, no! Besides, the usual catholics, protestants and non-believers, there are mohammedans. And some portion of them have made a stink, and here is the oddest part: the police apologised. Do you know how rare that is? Police, disgustingly often, do horrid things and make great errors, that are really travesties; and this often brasenly and without remorse. Yet, for this innocent thing, they are sorry.

Some maintain that dogs are grandly unclean. To be very simple: don’t harbor them. And don’t be a dictatorial, asinine prohibitionist for others, whom, do harbor them.


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The mediæval persians had other great poets than Omar Khayyam alone. One was Nizami *1141,†1203. Perhaps, the poem was based on a passage from al-Ghazali’s †1111, The Sayings of Jesus, where he translated aramaic into arabic.

The Eye Of Charity

One Evening Jesus lingered in market-place,
Teaching the people parables of truth and grace,
When in the square remote a crowd was seen to ride,
And stop with loathing gestures and abhorring cries.

Master and his meek disciples went to see
What cause this commotion and disgust could be,
And found a poor dead dog beside the gutter laid:
Revolting sight! at which each face its hate betrayed.

One held his nose, one shut his eyes, one turned away:
And all among themselves began aloud to say,
"Detested creature! he pollutes the earth and the air!"
"His eyes are blear!", "His ears are foul!", "His ribs are bare!"

"In his torn hide there's not a decent shoe-string left!"
"No doubt the execrable cur was hung for theft!"
Then Jesus spoke, and dropped on him this saving wreath,
"Even pearls are dark before the whiteness of his teeth!"

The pelting crowd grew silent and ashamed, like one
Rebuked by sight of wisdom higher than his own;
And one exclaimed, "No creature so accursed can be,
But some good thing in him a loving eye will see."