Sorry about not having a blog update yesterday. What started out as a quiet and rather peaceful day ended with some sadness.
My sister and I were running some errands in her car. Early in the afternoon, a dog ran in front of us on a very busy street - and as hard as she tried to stop in time …
We have no idea if the dog survived. The owner, thankfully, came outside of his house immediately and put the dog in the back of his car, and promptly brought it to the vet. Names and phone numbers were exchanged hastily, but we haven’t had the heart to call and follow up.
Which brings me to my point - there are no stupid dogs; only stupid owners.
Dogs’ natural instinct is to run around curiously. Why people think they can put dogs on those long tethers in unfenced backyards - on the best of days, a cruel way to treat any animal, and on the worst of days, an escape puzzle that’s not too difficult to solve - is beyond me.
I’m vouching for a law that says that owners should be treated as their dogs are. If the dogs have to stay outside all night in the freezing cold, so should their owners. If the dogs are permanently chained to a dog house, so should the owners. If the dog is neglected for weeks on end - well, so should the owners.
Some people laugh at me for “spoiling” my dog. She lives inside of the house. She eats healthy, homemade meals (prepared specifically for her; that’s not a codeword for “scraps”). She is loved and cared for as any human member of my family would be. And this is only natural; she’s a living, breathing, feeling creature - just like the rest of us.
Of course, we feel terrible about what happened yesterday; an innocent dog suffered terribly - for the sake of someone who had no business owning a dog in the first place.
Nice way to end off a Christmas holiday.
4 comments
Posted in Blog
Written on Thu, 27 December 2007 at 7:39 am
Tags: Christmas, dogs
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December 27th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
That’s so sad. I’m so sorry that happened. That’s one of the worst feelings (physically and emotionally) to go through. I once hit a cat and I can still remember what it felt like. Hopefully your good dog karma will rub off on the poor pup and he (or she, as it may be) will be fine.
December 27th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
On the subject of stupid dog owners, lets think for a moment about the hundreds of thousdands of dogs who spend their lives on chains, forgotten and ignored in back yards, trailer parks and vacant lots.
Hundreds of cities, counties and even a few states (Texas, California, Connecticut) have recently enacted laws that restrict how long people can chain a dog to a tree or broken down old dog house. Chaining a dog for life (hunting dogs included) is a barbaric form of cruelty and a holdover from a less enlightened age. Today, reasonable people understand dogs to be social, intelligent animals. Merely providing food water and so-called “shelter” is not enough. Learn more about the dogs dying this winter at the end of chains and what you can do: http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org
December 29th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
Every time I see a dog running free I feel a bit of sadness, because I know it is only a matter of time before a tragedy will happen. It is so unfair to the innocent dogs, as they know no better.
I hate that people are allowed to keep dogs chained or outside all of the time either. If someone doesn’t care to have a dog as a full blown family member that comes in the house and participates in family activities, then I don’t really see the point in them having a dog. A dog is not a convenient item to play with whenever you want but stored out of the way the rest of the time. A dog is a life companion that needs a family that loves him or her.
Sorry to get on my soapbox.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:53 am
aw…the poor puppy! George & Bruno will be hoping and praying that it is OK. Bruno used to be a roamer, until he came to live with us. He quite likes the nice big fenced back yard he has now, and having a sister to play with. He wishes every dog could have the same, rather than have to roam around looking for companionship and food