Pandora's Box

Our neighbor has a dog that has an air-like, cough of a bark. We had assumed that he'd cruelly had his dog's vocal chords removed to quiet the bark, but when A asked why his dog sounded like that he told her a very involved story about a burr from a bush working its way into the dog's throat and then having to be surgically removed. We were all shocked and horrified. Those burrs are dog-people's version of an urban legend. Fortunately, they've only been legend for us, as our dog never seems to pick up any of them.

But back to the neighbor's Louise Brooks of a dog (that was a reference to the star of silent movies if you didn't catch it). Anyway, just today we found out from another neighbor that the man did in fact have the dog's vocal chord removed voluntarily. But after telling the first neighbor and dealing with his horrified response, he has since come up with his urban legend that doesn't make him out to be the bad guy.

The first crime that was let out of Pandora's Box was... Animal Cruelty.

Don't worry, I don't think I'll really stick to a crime, disease, vice theme with this blog. Though I may amuse myself with that line of thought now and then. ;-)

So... Would you rather:

1. have half of both ears removed?
2. have the tips of all your fingers removed?
3. have your vocal chords severed?

This was the great debate between C and I at the dinner table tonight.
I wonder what inspired that conversation?