“To Flush, My Dog” written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and the RSPCA leaflet “ Just $3 a month will help rescue more animals like Trio” are two documents exploring the same topic - treatment of dogs. Both documents depict how the owners treat their dogs differently showing the love and bond between dogs and humans. In “To Flush, My Dog”, Elizabeth appraises her dog in a very elaborated manner, while RSPCA documents look at animals from another perspective. Though the theme is the same, the aim of writing is very different. Elizabeth’s love for her dog is contrasted with the maltreatment by some owners whose dogs are subsequently rescued by RSPCA. Similarities, differences and impacts of such treatments will be discussed.
“Nevermore, to pat thee!” (Stanza 16, line 6) Elizabeth uses archaic words like “thee and ‘thy’ to emphasize the importance of Flush to her. Their intimate relationship is shown through physical affection like patting and stroking. However, there is not any physical affection between Trio and its owner. Trio was physically abused. It was squeezed and grabbed in the belly. The wound is so serious that ‘the owner has been ‘prosecuted and is banned from keeping animals for five years’. Readers can be easily moved by such violent scenes.
Elizabeth provides Flush with a cozy home. She takes good care of it, feeds it with sugared milk and gives it some pretty collars to wear. Similarly, the staff in RSPCA treated the terribly injured and physically abused dogs with devoted care around the clock, hoping that they would recover as soon as possible. This shows the provision of love and care by dog lovers beyond basic necessities such as food and shelter. However, Poppy and Trio are not as fortunate as Flush. ‘As she swept along the drain pipe’, saved it from certain death’ (Poppy’s story, line 10) elaborates the miserable fate of Poppy or other