I never liked small dogs. But then along came Ferdie

OpinionMalcolm KnoxJournalist, author and columnistJuly 18, 2026 — 9:30amJuly 18, 2026 — 9:30amThis is a story about changing yourself. George Bernard Shaw said, “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” We live in a time, seemingly, of deepening entrenchment. If Shaw was right, this rigidity is not strength but powerlessness.Malcolm Knox with his dog Ferdie, a Prague ratter. I never liked small dogs. Growing up, we had medium-sized dogs, proper dogs. We had one seriously big dog: my brother, a vet who should have known his stuff, brought home a beagle pup that didn’t stop growing until he’d become a giant fox hound, who looked like Snoopy but was bigger than his kennel.Years later, my family adopted Bruce, a rescue blue heeler-kelpie cross, another proper dog with a be