It goes by many names: Elizabethan collar, doggy lamp shade, satellite dish, cone of shame. Most dogs, at some point in their life, are buckled (and possibly wrestled) into one by their loving owners. Contrary to what the dog may think, we do this for his or her own good—to protect them, to reduce the chance of further injury and maybe, just a little, to laugh at them.
Rufus, apparently, never read the “Caution: Beware of…” section in the addendum to Rules and Regulations in Regards to Living in the Human World. Otherwise, he would have known about the hazards of the cone and the laughter that may befall him. Frankly, though, he could care less. He wears his cone with pride.
Rufus shows off his cone of shame…er, fame. Not only is it a fabulous fashion accessory, but it also acts as a bib when he drools, as shown above.
Unfortunately for Rufus (and for me…the cone becomes a weapon of mass destruction at times), he has had to wear the lampshade many times in his short life. With his ongoing skin issues, he has to keep the cone on to prevent self-inflicted trauma. At first, he was a little frustrated. Now he practically shoves his head into the cone when it comes out. He uses it to bulldoze the other dogs out of his way and to earn sympathy treats from unsuspecting humans. When outside, it becomes a plow and is handy for making furrows in the ground. Plus, nothing amuses other drivers on the road more than seeing a goofy pit bull sitting in the front seat of a vehicle wearing a plastic cone on his head. Road rage goes right out the window. City of Austin, you can thank Rufus for the calmer demeanor of the drivers on the road. He can’t be held liable, though, for the accidents that may occur from the rubbernecking and hysterical laughter.
Accepting life as it comes is what Rufus and, generally, most dogs do. And I’m not talking about learned helplessness, where they put up with something because they believe that their particular situation is hopeless and no matter what they do, their condition will not change. Although this does happen (to people and animals alike), I am referring to their ability to adapt to novel situations, not them feeling helpless because they have nowhere else to turn. When Rufus wears his cone, he does so with pride. This is why he has three of them—one for day wear, one for evening and one for formals. Rufus is able to transform a difficult situation into an opportunity. He turns frowns upside down, lemons into lemonade and a cone of shame into a cone of fame.
And truly, this is what makes dogs Real. Not real, lower case (because we know they are not a figment of our imagination), but Real with a capital R. They accept their people as they are and their life as it comes, cones and all. This, unfortunately, is why we can abuse their trust but also why we can build such tremendous relationships with them. They trust us to help them, take care of them, love them. And this, in turn, makes us Real, too. This is better explained through a passage from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams:
Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’
‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.
‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’
‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’
‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.
When you are Real, you wear the cone because you trust that your person has your best interests at heart. You put up with the jokes and the teasing because you sense the love underneath. The cone may not make you beautiful, but that doesn’t matter because your beauty shines regardless of the piece of plastic on your head or the patchy baldness in your fur. This is when your cone of shame becomes your cone of fame, and you wear it with pride because you are Real and nothing can take that away. And if someone gets a chuckle at your expense, well, that’s okay because you know that you are REALLY loved and no piece of plastic can take that away.
Grimm's Furry Tail 
