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Lets Be Honest: Dogs Are Really Just Indoor Wolves
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Memoir

Lets Be Honest: Dogs Are Really Just Indoor Wolves

Surrounded by artwork worth millions, and carpentry tools, I met my greatest fear.

James Folta
Dec 27, 2013
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Lets Be Honest: Dogs Are Really Just Indoor Wolves
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Illustration by Sophie Goldstein

My general conclusion is that humanity’s earliest mistake was to invite feral wolves into our homes and think that they would bow to our whims. I see dogs as wild animals, still not to be trusted. I was attacked and harassed by dogs beginning as a toddler and have been jumpy around them ever since. I still switch sides with my friends while walking, to put their bodies between my own body and a potential dog attack. To me, dogs are primarily a threat. Take a look at their jaws and tell me we haven’t invited killers to share our civilization. I’m not calling dog lovers idiots, I’m just saying they’re a little delusional.

The city is the last place I expect to meet dangerous beasts, but I have run into some truly terrifying dogs in New York. I work as a carpenter for a high-end interiors company. One of our best clients is a kind, middle-aged multi-millionaire, an Upper West Side mom who regularly hires us for small jobs around her apartment. “Small jobs” …

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