A bronze statue of a Rottweiler is in Rottweil, honoring the breed, which served as Roman cattle herding dog.

Rottweilers are from the town of Rottweil in Germany. They are working dogs and were used as herding and butcher dogs. They were named after the town of Rottweil, a former Roman cattle trading hub. Their Roman ancestry is two thousand years old, and they were used by the roman legions for guarding and driving cattle. In the Middle Ages they were used by butchers in Rottweil to herd cattle, pull carts and protect money. Then in the early 20th Century they became popular for military and service work due to their strength and intelligence.

Now dear ones, you may be thinking why am I writing about the Rottweilers. My first experience of seeing the statue adorning the town of Rottweil was one of shock. How is it possible that one would have a statue of a killer dog. My friend, Ananda Prema was with me, and she told me that the Rottweiler was a herding dog, with a gentle temperament.

The boys with the Rottweilers

To continue with my story, I read in the newspapers this report. In the mountains of North India, there was a dog loving family and the grandmother gifted two of her grandsons a Rottweil puppy each. The puppies went everywhere with the boys. They climbed mountains, played in the snow in winter and were with the boys constantly.

This year the winter has been exceptionally cold, and it is worse in the mountains. One of the boys decided to go on a trek, with his dog. Boy and dog reached quite a height and then there was a storm. The boy was stranded in the cold. He managed to call his father. The other brother went to look for his sibling. Neither could be found. From a helicopter one could see the dog sitting next to the boy. Both dogs were with their masters. The helicopter came down. The boys had died because of the cold, and the Rottweilers had not left their side.

Do you see, what we do to animals? Such a noble dog, a working dog and protecting his master. We made him into a vicious, killer dog. There are reports of Rottweilers hurting children and adults. Who is at fault? We are the culprits, who have turned this lovely dog into a monster.

We are the people, who destroy the flora and fauna because we wish to exploit the environment.

Pause, breathe, and reflect on your own nature.

Aim Hrim Klim

Title photo by Kevin Seibel on Unsplash

Photo of statue by Donautalbahner – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link