A review of Due South
by Diefenbaker.
Woof, woof, woof. Pant! Woof, woof, woof, wooooooof! GROWL. Howwwwwwwl!!
Dief In part form the Internet.
Dief, like the snow and the magic Stetson, has symbolic improtance. As a wolf, he is demonstrable Canadian and is therefore as much a badge for Ben as his hat and uniform. There is also a theory going around that Dife represents Fraser's alter ego, the side that the Mountie consciously suppresses. Fraser attributes feeling and attitudes to Dief that he feels he cannot express himself, such as exasperation, embarrassment, reluctance to spend time with seniors, irritation and so forth. It is Dief who seems to first notice Thatcher's attraction for Ben - Benton himself cannot allow himself to experience such inappropriate feelings and therefore merely raises his eyebrows and says 'oh please!' and similarly it is the wolf who seems reluctant to spend time with the elderly inhabitant's at the Day Center.
Ben also seems to treat Dief with an intimacy, a rudeness that he shows to nobody else, except, occasionally, Ray. He gripes at Dief, he remonstrates him (bluntly) whereas he is nothing but tactful and polite to others. For example, he commands the wolf to accompany him on tracking expeditions because he says, the animal is growing soft, he calls him an ingrate and refuses to pander to his whims when Dief pretends to be ill. The conclusion one must draw is that Ben is comfortable with Dief, he knows he does not have to project an image for the wolf, that he can be himself with him.
DIEF
By S. Kimo.
I love Dief! Here are just a few of my favourite Dief moments:
The Pilot where he gets intimate with Ray in the Mercedes. I love Benny's deadpan announcement to the already terrified man that actually the animal currently sniffing him is not a dog but a wolf!
The Pilot again where Benny, examining the place where his father died, simply reaches out and pats his wolf. It is one of the (too) few times we see Fraser displaying affection towards Dief.
Pizza and Promises and the little whimper Dief gives when Ray, meaning of course the Comet, says he's gonna get this puppy impounded. This is one of my favourite Dief episodes!
The whole of the Wild Bunch. I have to be in a very strong mood to watch it at all because I just get so upset at seeing Dief suffering. The scene in the holding cell where Fraser converses with Dief is just classic DS. We have the humour of this grown Mountie talking to a deaf animal plus the poignancy of what he's saying. Beautiful.
Chicago Holiday. One of the very few golden moments in this hideous episode is right at the beginning when Fraser is getting ready for his evening with Christina and he is discussing teenage habits with a very resigned-looking Dief. The whine when Fraser happily announces the BeeGees are reforming is a gem!
BENTON'S BARKINGS Hello again, folks, from your >rover reporter=. I thought I would take the opportunity to pick up on the theme of huskies as vocal dogs. We do not subscribe to the woof-woof brigade. Instead we prefer to communicate in the far more subtle and varied ancient ways of the wolf.
The grand howl is our way of keeping a pack together. Nothing like a good old head back and "Wooooooa" at the sky with the lads to make one feel part of a team. As regards telling human-types what we need/feel, we have developed inflections that even you can understand.
When we feel threatened, we use the low Auff!@ as the wolf would. None of that noisy carry-on that less intelligent dogs use. Such a waste of energy! When nature calls, we get your attention with a series of short "woo woo's" that rise and become more insistent so that you cannot fail to follow. Walkies is a monotone "woo woo" and is accompanied by a prancing, excited trot that makes the cry rise and fall like a siren. If we are hungry we use something akin to nature calls but also run to our empty bowl to ensure you are not confused.
We will join in a conversation if there is something to say and will give back-chat with feeling if upbraided. We have our pride! A long "woo!" rising and falling is play with me, followed by a short "wuf, wuf, wuf" and the play bow (front paws and head down, tall and bottom up). When we are in a dominant / aggressive mood, we put our ears back, stiffen our body and make a guttural "aargh, aargh" sound. This is meant mostly for fun, to torment or to get someone to part with a choccy bickie. If pretend intimidation doesn't work - we cry. A quiet little whimper at first, building up to a loud sad "wooahwooah" never fails! If we feel we have been left in the yard too long, we turn on the full "WOOOOOO!", long and loud, guaranteed to aggravate the neighbours if not acted upon quickly enough.
I hope the Husky Language Lesson has been useful to you ape-types. I know that you are a bit slow but, with perseverance, you can be trained. Now repeat after me: "Wooahwoo!"
The Husky
by Sharon Elton
Huskies originally emigrated from East Asia and spread from Alaska to Northern Canada and Greenland. They have been used on Arctic expeditions as sled-dogs for over a century. Trappers, Eskimos, Indians, RCMP, Hudson Bay Traders and Priests have all used them. They can stand temperatures of -60 or 70 degrees Celsius and are strong sturdy animals. Their coat is dense and oily to help insulate them. They live off raw meat and can work in areas unreachable by vehicles. They are 53-60 cm in height, weigh 20-27 K and can live 10-12 years. They are difficult to keep as pets as they are an aggressive breed of dog and not easy to train.
In The Eyes of Dief
by Elizabeth Lunney.
The most amazing thing happened the other day-well quite a few actually but one was more amazing than all the others put together. It was the kind of day when you feel like chewing the edge of your basket or a bone but, oh no, Ben had other plans.
We set off to meet Ray and that was when I had the shock of my life. Ray was wearing (wait for it) a uniform just like Ben's. I just had to laugh, which wasn't a wile move. Ray's lips said, "Dief, stop smiling," and he gave me a mean glare.
We all got in the car and I got in the back as usual. Being a wolf can be boring and that's at the best of times! But on some occasions I get the impulse to play tricks-namely on Ray!
It was on this day that I suffered one such urge. The car pulled up, the window was open, Ray's hat was in view so...I grabbed it, pounded out the window and ran.
I had been waiting for a while to catch my breath when they caught up with me. Ray wasn't pleased, I can tell you! I knew just what was going to happen next. Ben sat down in front of me and told me right from wrong, how I shouldn't mock Ray and especially how I shouldn't mock Ray as he had gone to all the trouble of dressing up for my sake!!??
Well, I couldn't believe my eyes. Had Ray gone mad? Why on Earth was he dressing up as a Mountie? I was just about getting fed up with not knowing when it all became incredibly clear.
It was the annual Easter Fancy Dress Ball! We made our way to the office where I sank my teeth into a big tasty meal. But to this day I cannot imagine who talked Ray into dressing as a Mountie-and Frannie as a chicken(?)
And I still don't know why it was for my sake!
Fraser's Inuit Tale
-For Gary Setterfield
In the beginning, so goes the legend, there was a man and a woman and nothing else on Earth walked or swam or flew. And so the woman dug a big hole in the ground and she started fishing until she pulled out all of the animals and the last animal she pulled out was the caribou.
And so the woman set the caribou free and ordered it to multiply and soon the land was full of them. The people lived well, they were happy. But the hungers, the hunters only killed those caribou who were big and strong. And soon all that was left were the weak and the sick. And the people began to starve.
So the woman had to make magic again and this time she called Amarak, Spirit of the Wolf to winnow out the weak and the sick so that the herd would once again be strong.
And the people realized that the caribou and the wolf were one for, although the caribou feeds the wolf, it is the wolf that keeps the caribou strong.
A Little Wolf's Prayer
by Antoinette Robinson
A master who is firm and kind,
And understands a wolfie's mind.
A Walkie and a meal each day.
That's all Dief asks for when he prays.
