Peaceable kingdom

The American Quaker painter Edward Hicks is known for his “Peaceable Kingdom” paintings, showing the child Jesus restraining a lion and surrounded by various wild animals. His inspiration is said to have come from Isaiah 11:6-9 that starts out: “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat.”

It’s a utopian view of a world order where different animal species (including humans) can live together in peace. Hicks himself used the paintings as metaphors for peace among humans, but became more pessimistic about the prospects in his old age.

I look at the paintings as a veterinarian and an anthropologist, and am actually more optimistic. In the real world, there is a lot of tolerance among nonhuman animals, if not cooperation and nurturing.

At my home in UP Diliman, there have been many occasions when family and friends would rush to take photos of my two dogs interacting, and here’s why:

The older one, Dr. Tissot, 10 years old, is a white Aspin (asong Pinoy or native dog), weighing, the last time I checked, about 20 kilos—as large as a German Shepherd. Imagine him now quietly sitting and shooting the breeze with Godzilla, a one-year-old black and tan dachshund, weighing 5 kilos.

I wasn’t too happy when my son got Godzilla when I was away on a trip, partly because I was worried how Dr. Tissot, who has become a bit cranky with old age, would take a newcomer.

I should have known about Dr. Tissot, a gentle giant who came from another house, where he had grown up caring for a kitten (that ran off) and a French boxer (that died) and was so trusting of animals in general. When I brought him over to UP, he was ecstatic when he got out of the car, spotting a group of semi-wild cats that I had inherited from previous chancellors. He ran off to invite them to play… and got slapped and scratched.

With time, I’ve tamed the cats, but Dr. Tissot remains wary. For almost four years he was pretty lonely without animals to play with—until Godzilla came along, who’s spoiled rotten now with Dr. Tissot giving in to all her whims and demands.

Godzilla, when she joined our household, made a mad dash, too, for the cats. But, instead of getting beaten up, she was accepted like a long-lost friend. They now play and sunbathe together, which mystifies Dr. Tissot, still smarting from being beaten up before.

There’s more.

Godzilla is a lakwatsera, a dog that loves to travel and joins us for many out-of-town trips. The ones to the countryside have been thrilling for her, as she charms her way immediately with other dogs and, of course, cats, always with my watchful eye.

But she hasn’t been as successful with assorted farm animals. The last weekend, we were in this wonderful pet-friendly bed and breakfast in Bataan, Papa’s Garden, and Godzilla went wild making friends with two rabbits, exercising them like never before and finally giving up only when they scampered into a hole in the wall. I had to ask her to stop, worried she would end up in the land of Oz.

All this got me thinking of all the studies that have been conducted among humans. Humans, and I suspect dogs and other animals, are born “peaceable.” We learn “othering”—thinking of other people as different—from society. Watch kids when they’re young, and skin color or language accents don’t matter to them. With time, though, the elders teach them to ridicule and to be fearful of people different from ourselves.

There are times when Godzilla isn’t as friendly and trusting. At Taytay Falls in Majayjay, I was taking in the sun with Godzilla when she just refused to make friends with a man who had approached her.

In local folklore, people say dogs can tell when they’re approached by humans who eat dog meat, so I did wonder.

I do worry about Godzilla, and my kids, becoming too trusting. But I also tell my children that you can’t really tell about someone’s character or personality (dog eaters, human eaters) from outward appearances. I’ve found the “meanest”-looking people turning out to be as gentle as Dr. Tissot. Conversely, the most diabolical con artists are successful because, precisely, they’re so pleasant and, yes, disarming. Beware the smiling tiger was one of my mother’s favorite proverbs.

It isn’t easy building a peaceable kingdom, but maybe we can start by being conscious of, and countering, the ways we pick up stereotypes and biases that block friendships.

mtan@inquirer.com.ph