Oba: The Belgian Malinois

I often marveled at Oba the Belgian Malinous’ strength, speed and agility. Many times over I enjoyed just visually following her stride as she ran back, forth and around as we played fetch.  She was and remains a through-bred in form, coloration, temperament and intelligence. In short; she was one truly amazing animal. Malinous have been described as the Lamborghinis’ of the dog world. They are as a breed the most popular choice among the current military and law enforcement.

Oba was a strikingly beautiful animal. Whenever I took her out on the street or in the park she never failed to be complimented by some passerby. She was also protective, intuitive and vastly inquisitive. She used her strength to great effect often pulling me as we strode down the street and over and through hilly fields of grass, brush and trees. Oba loved these adventurous outings like a true champion. 

The Malinous; as bred, are working dogs that are on a 24 hour cycle. They enjoy being on guard, hitched up to and pulling brush, digging holes and amusing themselves rolling and retrieving rolling balls and other objects often completely on her own.  I have heard from other Malinous owners that their herding instincts are applied to small children. The dogs will follow toddlers lightly snipping at their heels guiding them around a room or other area.

Baby Oba

Oba had other amusements included when we took our walks, wading in streams, stretching, chewing and sniffing out anything she could find.  She enjoyed her rope throw toys more than anything. I was constantly reworking them because she loved to chew them apart with her sharp teeth.  I believe this was often in an effort to redesign them. She would always wait patiently while I repaired them and they would always look different from their previous incarnation when I finished. She loved her indestructible Buffalo Horn. She chewed on it (along with bones and wood, her favorites too) and because it was so round in shape she could throw it and roll it away from herself and then chase it. She would sometimes throw it into the air catching it, then rolling it again. Another thing that seemed important and fun for her was barking at neighbors walking by, often with their own dogs and barking at them each. Oba was something of an endless entertainment.

Oba's Favorite "Throw Toy"

Oba is named for a West African Yoruban River Deity. She possesses a regal presence not unlike one you might expect to find in a goddess.  She is; technically and in reality a Malinous X.  Belgian Malinous and German Shepards are very similar dogs but they do have different traits and personality characteristics. Their temperaments, size and human interactions are not exactly the same. The Shepard is more stable and steady while the Malinous is much more eager and reactionary, depending on situations.  The Belgian Malinois is a keener/ impulsive breed. Many of their actions are even comedic. The dogs are bred together in an effort to combine the best of both breeds but the off spring will overwhelmingly possess distinctly one or the other. Oba's ways, for all practical purposes, 100% Malinois. 

I learned many life lessons through my interactions with Oba, things that I might not have known otherwise, things that were made fresh because of her and much more deeply resonant. The bond between particular dogs and humans is so integral to nature itself. We have so much in common; warm blooded, caring, hunting and group bonding (the pack.) The dogs keen senses combined with their strength and endurance give humans extended powers in much needed situations, ways particularly beneficial when living without the many modern technical advantages we now have. We were able to provide shelter, warmth (originally through fire) and the numerous advantages of our opposing thumbs for the animals. It comes down to the most basics of life and existence that are at the core. After centuries still, the DNA of both creatures remains the same…man and beast.  

Sadly my time with Oba was for only about six months. Oba was owned by my granddaughter and she was unable to keep her chiefly because she lived in an apartment and Oba was a “Barker.” Oba was given up for adoption a couple months ago and she quickly found a new owner that just happens to be a veterinary student. I couldn’t think of a better scenario for Oba. Her continuing happiness, health and care are most important to me.  

I like to think of the value of my days with Oba in the way that unfolded in the literary classic “Black Beauty.” The protagonist in the tale; a magnificent black horse with a white forehead star would go through life with many different owners. The various owners of “Beauty” ranged from kind and understanding to brutal, ignorant and unforgiving. In the end though she found her way back to her original home, to the peace and tranquility of her early life. I like to think something of the sort might be in Oba’s future. She may be home again. I still keep her water dish on the patio and some of her toys in their dining room box. Who knows?

Kathryn Bigelow: Zero Dark Thirty

Sunday afternoon January 20^th I find myself sitting, stunned in a dark movie theatre. The credits roll as the score plays for one of the most powerful films I have seen in many years. There’s a lot to digest here and I haven’t been this shaken and awed by a film since Francis Ford Coppola’s  “Apocalypse Now.” I remain motionless. “Directed by Kathryn Bigelow” flows from the darkness and reveals itself onto the screen then fades away. After a time I have to leave the theatre; this brilliant, unusual production piece, “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Bigelow has created nothing short of a masterpiece. It will be viewed and studied for years to come. It is already being dissected and analyzed. It is also already an intense controversy. This is the stuff that makes legends; makes the world think. Torture is nothing short of the most vile, hideous and least human of acts that human beings perform on each other. There is no connection to the heroic in it’s execution and Americans need to see themselves as heroes. The depiction of the torture of the detainees in a CIA Black Site is so realistic and brutal that I almost left the theatre at one point, to watch it is to somehow comply with it.  I sat through the scenes that went on for at least 20 minutes (an eternity in film time) and it is to the great credit of the film maker that she was able to bring me back into her vision. It was the scene with the monkeys that brought me back.  

“Zero Dark Thirty” is military slang for thirty minutes past midnight (Oh Dark Thirty) or an arbitrary time between midnight and dawn. It is very late night or very early morning depending on your point of view. The film too is very much left to the viewer’s perspective. This is good for events that are so critical to the national psyche and are actual events in the nation’s history. The bringing to justice of Osama Bin Laden was important and it was not pretty. There is no real glorification or “Hollywood” clichés involved. The film opens to a total black screen with archive recordings of the attack of the World Trade Center. Our imaginations and memories are already put to work. It cuts directly to the torture of an “Enemy Combatant” who strangely comes to remind me of Jesus. What follows is without a single moment of detachment for the viewer.

 

 

Bigelow’s vision of the events following Nine Eleven is impressive, provocative and to the credit of all her team of collaorators and crew. Bigelow takes her place now among the great artist/film-makers with this dedicated piece. I can only think that there are greater works still from her to come.