Art

Music

The term "puppy" has many definitions that extend beyond the description of a young dog. The word figuratively or literally may be interpretable by diverse audiences. "Puppy" may reference love, submission, frailty, or particular aspects of culture and interpersonal phenomenon discussed further in Chapters Three, Eight, and Thirteen. Some audience members may derive one meaning from lyrics while others interpret the same lyrics as having a distinct meaning. Interpretations may be individual, social, contextual, or cultural. Three examples of songs with lyrics using the term "puppy" are "Puppy Toy" performed by British musician Tricky (2008); "Craven Choke Puppy" performed by Jamaican musician Bob Marley (1992); and "Too Many Puppies" performed by the American rock band Primus (Claypool, LaLonde, & Alexander, 1990). Their diverse, yet overlapping, allusions may suggest various definitions and understandings of the word "puppy" within English-speaking cultures that could reveal or influence attitudes towards puppies (Heine, 2009).

Tricky's duet, "Puppy Toy," may describe people and dogs involved in dependent relationships. "'Again, we go round and round. I'll get the drinks. I guess it's always my round.' 'Can you get me that drink?'" (Tricky, 2008). The song could be interpreted by a dog handler to be about a service dog, who retrieves drinks (Grace, 2013; Youtube.com, 2010). "'Friends, girls, they come and go' ... 'Got any cash?' 'She likes that money, boy! She needs a puppy toy'" (Tricky, 2008). The lyrics could be understood to describe a dog handler, who abstains from socializing, in order to afford toys for a service dog. A handler with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could interpret some lyrics to describe dissociative episodes and panic attacks. "'You stare and look confused ... Won't love, won't care again.' 'Girl, you got a vicious tongue.' 'You're talking to me?' ... 'Girl, you seem insecure' ... 'Get your head right.' 'There's nothing wrong with me'" (Tricky, 2008). An assistance dog may lick a handler when traumatic memories have been triggered. At the beginning of a dissociative episode a handler suspiciously may view a service dog. A night terror related to PTSD is portrayed in a commercial for The Royal Dutch Guide Dog Foundation. In the commercial, a veteran is experiencing a nightmare in which he is wounded and trapped in carnage while another soldier is whimpering and licking him (KNGF, 2014). The veteran is stirred from his nightmare by his assistance dog, who is whimpering and licking him. The commercial demonstrates that service dogs momentarily may be confused with flashbacks. Even though Tricky's song was written by a British musician, the Dutch commercial illustrates that a lyrical interpretation applying to a service dog and handler's relationship may be understood by people fluently speaking English in other societies.

Bob Marley's song "Craven Choke Puppy" (1992) may be understood to have a number of different meanings in English and Jamaican Patois; thus, colloquial or symbolic use and interpretations of "puppy" could be multidimensional (Kripke, 1991). For example, Craven A is a brand of cigarettes sold in Jamaica. "Craven-a, go choke a puppy" could refer to poisoning and suffocation during animal testing, smoking, or secondhand smoke inhalation (Marley, 1992). The lyric could refer to deteriorative effects of teen rebellion on youth. The phrase "craven choke puppy" has been translated by Jamaican patois websites as meaning "[s]omeone who wants everything but when it's ... [given] to them, they can't handle it," which may refer to corporate gluttony (Jamaican Proverb, 2014). Related is the phrase "crab'n choke puppy" possibly meaning that "[a] craven puppy will choke" or "[i]f you are greedy[, then] it can hurt you" (Wise Jamaican Proverbs, 2008). The implied meaning and phonology of "craven" seems to suggest "craving" (i.e. overwhelming want), and not necessarily the correct meaning of "craven" (i.e. contemptible coward). In each translation, a "puppy" may represent something desirable, which may be a unit of measurement, a goal, a lifestyle, or an object, etc., which in excess is corruptive. "Craven a-go choke puppy ... So you want all for yourself alone, and you don't think about the other man" (Marley, 1992). The "puppy" may be a coveter, who is suffocated by excess; for example, a puppy may choke on an excessively large bone. Marley sings, "Can you dig it?" possibly asking whether the "puppy" can live frugally rather than hoard wealth (Marley, 1992). "The craven dog will lose his bone ... [running] after something else. Can't take it for themselves alone. They don't think about the other man" (Marley, 1992). Marley symbolically may refer to devaluation of property or interpersonal relationships.

Primus' song "Too Many Puppies" seems to be about America's foreign wars, violence, and oppression (Claypool, LaLonde, & Alexander, 1990). "Too many puppies are being shot in the dark. Too many puppies are trained not to bark at the sight of blood that must be spilled so that we may maintain our oil fields ... Too many puppies are taught to heel. Too many puppies are trained to kill on the command of men wearing money belts" (Claypool, LaLonde, & Alexander, 1990). The lyrics may be a social commentary about the role of military working dogs and veteran assistance dogs. "Too many puppies are just like me ... afraid to see the visions of the past brought to life again" may describe PTSD flashbacks experienced by deployed military working dogs and human military (e.g. soldiers) (Claypool, LaLonde, & Alexander, 1990).

Film

Dog-themed films may differ in their depictions of dogs as heroes and victims from films in which storylines about humans are the predominant focus and dogs are jokes. In dog-centric films, humans may attempt to balance burgeoning domestic life, which includes dogs' companionship. This is discussed in detail throughout Chapter Nine. However, dogs typically must evade societal problems and endure speciesism. Through this paradigm, Walt Disney films subtly have commented on dog–human problems, such as dog abduction, breeding, pet stores, animal control, dog fur, killing and other pertinent and complex topics discussed in Chapters Five and Six. For example, in the animated film "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," Cruella De Vil, who is called "devil woman" by Dalmatian Pongo, attempts to steal and skin Pongo and Perdita's puppies in order to manufacture a fur coat (Walt Disney, 1961). The names Pongo and Perdita (i.e. Perdy) insinuate "pongo" and "perdida" meaning "I set/place/apply" and "to be lost," respectively, in Spanish, which describe the...