Suki and I sat on the bank, staring at the swans. She shifted stances, her head tilting, ears pricking to attention, tracking their movements. I wondered for a moment, if she considered these creatures almost like a social elite. It was clear she held for them a great curiosity, matched only by her animosity. Dogs it seemed could almost fit the title of the working classes in the kingdom. Modern thought is that sheep are blind followers, a lower class of thinkers, allowing others to guide their actions, and their thought. Suki and her kind are independent thinkers yet hold to a certain respect the opinions and directions of their people. If that makes them the working-class animal, it would come to wonder why we pit them against sheep, having them herd and control. Do sheep not contribute to society with their wool, with their tending to fields, with their docile nature.

The swan in its majesty glides on water and through air, with ease. Often you will find their herd surrounded by ducks, like followers, admirers, sticking close. To a dogs knowledge the swan does nothing, merely known for its looks and its fickle nature. Many a dog have been wounded in their attempts to interact with this royal bird. To harm a swan would bring the wrath of society itself to a doorstep, they live beneath the protection of kings and queens. Yet Suki herself knows the harsh reality of nature and its betrayal, and the cruelty of people. Where was society and all its protection when she was at the mercy of an abusive hand. Dogs live on the reliance of people willing to take them in, to make space, to find space, for love and protection.

I doubt that most animals ever find their place in the kingdom. They move from day to day following paths laid out before them, confining themselves to their herds, their packs, their gaggles. Dogs have found their place, in our homes, in our hearts and let their nature guide them. They go to work everyday, bringing joy, companionship, empathy, responsibility and innocence to their people. They’re not the only ones in the kingdom to do this, to become pets to people, there are many others. Yet dogs are in their own space in society, as protectors, companions, dependents. The very people they rely on would be lost without them, and lesser for never having met them.

I don’t know what Suki thinks of swans, I wish I  knew, not that it changes a thing. It is doubtful that animals will ever debate the nuances of the class system among them. Perception of their place, and their worth in the kingdom is often considered in view of their strength, their aggression, their willingness to survive. Still, it is not the killer instinct, the speed or their ferocity that earned dogs their place amongst us. They teach us about redemption, forgiveness, love, and loss. Within all that we become better people, more rounded, more softened, more willing, to find our own place, to make our own differences.

We got up and walked on, leaving the swans to perform for the ducks and the dogless.