Dogland Part II - A Mangie goes to the Capes

Dogland was all abuzz with excitement with a recent development and plans for dogs to venture into places unknown.

The Mangies have decided to make Dogland seemed ultra-cool and more advanced by working with KanineCentral to send one dog from Dogland to the Capes together with a Kanine. Now, very few dogs have ever been to the Capes except for some Kanines and a Retriever or two from another kennel so the Mangies are intent on using this ruse to boost their image as 'great' pack leaders.

They launched a complete marketing strategy to cover the rising growls of dissent and announced the many great deeds the chosen dog will perform while at the Capes which will benefit the whole of Dogland. They even went so far as to hire a Retriever from lands far away, who had been to the Capes several times, to go all over the land and promote this grand 'Journey to the Capes' scheme. They cleverly played down the actual amount of bones and meat needed to send the Mangie to the Capes.

Soon, many dogs in the land ignorantly caught on to the wave of excitement while Capes lovers applaud and welcomed the project. However, the growls of dissent were not easily silenced. Many other dogs felt it is a total waste of bones and meat which could be put to better use for the old, the disabled and those too weak to scrounge for their own meals. They tried to tell the other dogs but were mostly ignored.

Thus the 'selection' process for the fittest dog in Dogland to represent the kennel in the great journey to the Capes. It was a painstaking, tedious process with hundreds of dogs rushing to apply and achieve the fame of being the first dog in Dogland to ever go to the Capes. To avoid suspicions, the weeks leading up to the actual selection saw a Labrador, a Saint Bernard and a Hound amongst the top ten finalists of mostly Mangies.

Needless to say, despite repeatedly proclaiming that the selection process is based on the fitness of the dog and not the breed, a Mangie was chosen amongst many other non-Mangies. The second in line to go is also a Mangie. These two Mangies were sent to KanineCentral for dog training so that they would be able to survive the arduous trip to the Capes. The marketing campaign continues as more dogs began to believe that sending a Mangie to the Capes will actually solve all problems in Dogland.

The Mangies themselves thought the whole scheme is an absolute success to get the dogs' support. 'Ah, soon, there would not be any growling dog in the whole of Dogland because we have sent a dog to the Capes!' they secretly thought.

Little did the dogs know that the Mangie selected for the journey will get a free trip fully sponsored by Dogland and will not accomplish anything while there. The Mangie was just a dog with no special capabilities like the Kanine and were treated as a 'guest' in the journey rather than an important part of the exploring team.

The Mangie went to the Capes with much yapping and howls. The great journey was so broadly advertised that every dog and pup in Dogland knew about it, although not all necessarily agree to it.

Also with much yapping and howls, the Mangie came back and promptly announced how successful the whole journey had been. The Mangie even claimed to have discovered important sniffing measures while at the Capes.

Time passed and the whole Journey to the Capes spectacle faded away. The Mangie did not bring any riches to Dogland. There were no sudden windfall of bones or meat. In fact, after the hype died down, there was no physical benefit to be seen from the whole project.

The bones and meat are all gone, paid to the KanineCentral to ferry a Mangie to the Capes as a 'guest'. Meanwhile, many dogs in Dogland continue to suffer due to bad infrastructure, poor health and worsening living conditions in the land. In all the hype of sending a Mangie to the Capes, the very important issue of caring for all the dogs in Dogland was forgotten and pushed aside.

It was as if it is more important to waste millions of bones and meat to send a Mangie to the Capes than to use it for the good of all of the dogs in Dogland.