Hey guys. I'm here to unpack a harrowing childhood experience. There's a chance you've lived through it too. Come hither. We'll process it together.
I recently remembered something troubling about my 4th grade curriculum.
My class was broken up into groups. Each group was assigned to read and then present a book about a dog. I love dogs! I was excited.
But it didn't take long for me to realize the horrifying direction these books were going in.
These weren't happy dog stories like Because of Winn-Dixie. They were absolute nightmares. In every single book...the dog dies. A GRUESOME FUCKING DEATH.
I didn't ask for it. My classmates didn't ask for it.
And I couldn't help but wonder...Were we alone in this suffering, or were others subjected to it too?
Were you forced to read Old Yeller?
Old Yeller's owner, Travis (a literal child), has to kill him because he gets bitten by a rabid wolf.
Or Where the Red Fern Grows?
Two dogs named Old Dan and Little Ann are brother and sister. When Old Dan dies protecting their owner Billy from a mountain lion, Little Ann is so depressed that she refuses to eat or drink and dies from grief ON HIS GRAVE.
What about Stone Fox?
Willy enters his dog Searchlight in a sled race to win money so he can save his grandpa's farm. Searchlight's HEART EXPLODES and she dies right before reaching the finish line.
Or the absolute nightmare that is Sounder?
Sounder's owner dies while they're out hunting together. A couple weeks later I guess he decides to give the hell up and crawls under the porch and dies.
How about White Fang??
Honestly, too many to explain. It's just chock full of wolf and dog deaths.
I guess it wasn't enough to have to read books where the main plot lines involved dogs dying. The torture continued when we were forced to read stuff where it was snuck into the side plots too.
Like Of Mice and Men.
NBD, Lennie just accidentally KILLS HIS PUPPY BY BEING TOO ROUGH WITH IT.
And The Grapes of Wrath.
The family's dog gets hit by a fucking car. John Steinbeck Stop Killing Dogs challenge.
Seriously...Who is coming up with these curriculums??? Is there a deeper meaning I'm missing besides "dogs die?"
If you need me I'll just be living in fear of my dog's heart randomly exploding.
