Journal 31: Compare and Contrast Dogs

Gary Paulsen describes his dogs as a team and also as individuals. Think for a moment about the dogs (or other animals) you have known. Do you agree that no two dogs are ever alike in personality, even those that have been raised together? Choose two animals you have known to compare (choose specific individuals). If you like, make a Venn diagram for the two animals to help you think of how they are alike and how different. Avoid obvious similarities like “They both have fur.” Try to focus on personality traits.

I've never had any pets and I've always been quite afraid of animals ever since I was very small. So, I'm going to compare two of the homeless animals who are always wondering around in our community. One of them is a really, really cute white cat that always hang around in our front yard. The other one is a really dirty and a mean-looking, and one of my neighbors said she's been chased by it before. The dog is pretty fierce and doesn't like human. Whenever someone goes near him, he barks loudly and bares his teeth. I always try to avoid it when I walk home when I was younger. The kitten is very different though. It's very sweet and likes coming near people, and my sister always try feeding it water and some bread. The kitten is very curious and likes to stand by  our window and watch us and sometimes even watch TV with us! The dog is very mean and tough, but it's very smart too. It knows that it must avoid cars and it's actually quite good at crossing the road! I think the kitten is still young and naive so it is still very cute and friendly, but the dog has already experienced a lot and knows humans are not always kind, so it knows it must protect itself first. Those animals are kind of like humans, all of them have human feelings and they all learn from their experiences and mistakes.