Smrt Lernins

That shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, but sadly, it probably will. Your dogs aren’t people. They don’t have people-rights. They don’t have people-privileges. They aren’t as important as people. They are certainly not more important than people. There are laws and ordinances that govern their behavior and yours (as it relates to them) in public.

Our state’s laws only cover dangerous animals or animals with the potential to be dangerous, which, sadly, most people don’t seem to think includes their precious Poochie-poo, no matter how many times he’s “nipped” someone. Our county, however, has clearly deliniated leash laws:

(a)(1)It shall be unlawful for the owner of any animal to permit such animal to be out of his immediate control and restraint, or to be left unattended off the premises of the owner, or to be upon the property of another person without the permission of the owner or person in possession of such other property. For the purposes of this chapter, condominium and apartment common property shall not be considered to be the premises of the animal owner. Voice control does not constitute control of an animal.

(A)(2)b. When off the premises of the owner, all animals shall at a minimum be maintained on an appropriate chain, leash or tie not exceeding 6 feet in length, and in the hands of a person who possesses the ability to restrain the animal.

There’s no ambiguity about this. We have several enclosed, off-leash dog parks within the area. There’s no excuse for a dog to be loose at a public park, period. Except the two women who brought their dogs to Noonday Park during homeschool soccer still didn’t seem to get that. They were there at the same time, but not together. The older woman (who sounded South African) had two small terrier-type dogs, off leash. The younger woman (maybe late 30s, early 40s) had a very large German Shepherd. I spoke with both women about their dogs being off leash. Both women didn’t seem to think the rules should apply to them. Both got pissy about being asked to put their dogs on leash in accordance with ordinance.

Understand, homeschool soccer has probably 150 children ranging in age from 3 to late teen, plus parents with infants and toddlers. The children are running around, shrieking with joy, kicking balls. Even under the best of circumstances, a strange dog doesn’t need to be off leash around children. These are not the best of circumstances for dogs. These are the circumstances that send what I’m sure are otherwise perfectly lovely dogs into a frenzy when their owners walk them (leashed) around the park during soccer time. I’ve seen some dogs freak the hell out, sometimes just from the activity noise, sometimes because, well, walk a cute doggy into a field full of little kids, and the kids will swarm.

Here are our case studies for today:

Woman #1: Her dogs were sniffing around some smaller children, whose game had just finished. Some of the kids were petting the dogs, others were shrinking away. Not every kid likes dogs. Not every parent encourages her children to touch strange dogs. I told the woman, “Your dogs need to be on their leashes. It’s the law, and this park is full of children playing soccer.” Her response, “It’s fine. We’re walking in the other direction from them,” and proceeded to walk through the group of children and parents, calling her dogs in a high-pitch “come here precious voice” and did not put them on a leash.

Woman #2: Was present when I asked the first woman to leash her dog, though wasn’t with Woman #1. Ignored me. I approached her directly after the kids were in the car (because, frankly, he dog was bigger than all three of the small children, was in fact bigger than two of them combined.) I used the same language. “Your dog needs to be on a leash. The park is full of small children and there are leash laws.” She just stared at me, so I thought, ok, maybe she a) doesn’t get it or b) thinks I’m insulting her dog, so I said, “He may be a very nice dog, but some children are afraid of dogs. He needs to be on a leash or you could be fined.” She stared at me some more and finally said something to the effect of what I’m saying may be true, but she doesn’t like my tone. She didn’t put the leash on. In fact, she didn’t even have a leash on her. She continued scolding me on my tone and I finally interrupted and said, “Look lady, I don’t care if you like my tone or not, because you’re the one breaking the law here, not me. Get your dog on the leash.” I got in my car and she kept glaring at me, but took her dog by his collar and hauled him to her car.

Look folks, I obviously like dogs enough to, you know, freaking OWN one, but I don’t think my dog is special enough to break the law/ordinance. Hell, regardless or ordinance, I don’t think my dog has rights equal to or greater than the rights of a person. A park full of small kids? NOT A PLACE FOR YOUR OFF LEASH ANIMAL. Your dog isn’t another child who wants to play with my child. Your dog is a dog. However much you love your dog, however smart your dog, animals sometimes act unpredictably and I don’t want my child, someone else’s child, or my/someone else’s appropriately restrained animal to be the victim of your unrestrained animal’s first (or second, etc.) freak out. And if you don’t like my tone, you can pack up your punkin feelings with your unleashed dog and go the frak home.

Put your goddamn dogs on a leash when they’re out of your house. It’s common freaking courtesy. It’s also the law or county ordinance in most places.

[This should have been posted yesterday, but see previous entry -- I still say it counts]

I’m thankful for many people in my life: my children, my husband, my parents, my grandparents, my brother and his fiance, my mother-in-law (and I’m also thankful she’s so sane), my friends, the homeschool community that has embraced my family. I could write a post every day for a month and not run out of people. I think that’s the mark of a truly blessed life. It does make it difficult to choose who to write about for my final “I’m Thankful for…” post.

Instead of writing something really profound about the amazing people in my life, I’m writing about a little incident that happened a couple days earlier and scared the ever-loving-PANTS off of me:

Officer Daddyman typically works late nights and I’m often in the bath or even in bed before he gets home. The other night, I was taking a hot bath, drinking a glass of wine, and reading Beatrice and Virgil, when Badge, our dopey but lovable beagle, let out two little “alert” barks. The “alert” bark sounds like “brorf” and is the noise Badge makes to let us know someone or something is walking down the street past our house. He alerts for passing people, other dogs, cats, etc. This isn’t unusual. After the alert barks, however, he did something he never does — he started making a low, rumbling growl.

The growl went on and on, got deeper and louder, and had a tone I have never, ever heard him use. I got out of the bath and had started drying off to see if maybe a cat or possum was on the porch, bothering him, when he started making the biggest, loudest, fiercest bark I’ve ever heard him make. He sounded like a Rottweiler, and a particularly large and ferocious one, at that. I popped my head out of the bath and saw him standing, body rigid and hackles raised…

Right in front of our front door.

I tossed on my clothes and made my way quietly down stairs. Badge had stopped barking and laid down in front of the door, facing it, still on alert. He stayed there for another five to ten minutes, before he finally relaxed with a “wuff” and went to lie down in his bed (the super plushy one that officer Daddyman bought him).

I don’t know what was out there, but I have no doubt that if Badge viewed it as a big enough threat to his family to go all Big Bad Dog on it, that it was a threat to his family. He was rewarded with several treats, many pats, and lots of “GOOD DOG!” praises. About a half-hour later, I heard coyote howls outside and it set him off again. I have no idea if it was a coyote in our driveway or something (or someone) on our porch that had him upset earlier, but whatever it was, the sound of the world’s most terrifying beagle made it scamper good and quick.

So while I have many wonderful people in my life, for that moment where I was home alone late at night with my kids, I was incredibly grateful for my doofy, goofy, dumb-even-for-a-beagle, but braver than all get out beagle-boy, Badge.

Sometimes, the Well-Trained Mind forums just throw me for a loop, especially in the non-homeschool area. I mean, I get that our political and social leanings are typically vastly different, but somtimes, man oh man, I am just absolutely boggled by what I read. This morning, I learned that human societies are oppressive and horrible fascists who want to control every facet of our lives because…they won’t give a dog to someone with unaltered pets, who wants to breed them for “the experience of owning a kitten” (not to better the breed or for show, these are not full-blooded animals), and who plans to keep the dog as a primarily/entirely out-door animals.

How dare an animal rescue group set standards for pet ownership that will significantly cut down on the number of unwanted animals out there or minimize the likelihood that the people bringing the animal home will ultimately abandon it again! This is practically the work of Stalin here!

With SO many unwanted, uncared for, and unplanned (from unaltered pets) pets out there, I’m so grateful there are both private individuals and larger groups that are willing to take these animals in and go the extra mile to make sure they find a home that is safe, with responsible owners who will give them a forever home, not just a temporary stop-gap. I’m grateful that they are willing to put a lot of money into returning these animals to health and maintaining that health, something which costs a great deal more than the small adoption fee/donation these groups ask. Our new beagle, Badge, was adopted for a donation of $100. He had been fully vetted, had tested heartworm positive and been treated, was neutered, and had treated with pest-preventive medications prior to adopting him. That’s a lot more than $100 in care.

Yes, I had to jump through a bunch of hoops to get our beagle. I had to fill out an extensive questionnaire (several different ones from several groups, as I was looking through multiple rescues to find the right dog), agree to certain standards of care (indoor-only/primarily), and have certain aspects of my pet-owning background checked (did I keep my previous pets’ shots up-to-date? were the animals actually altered as I claimed?). The animal rescue is completely within their rights to ask this of me — THEY are the ones who have invested the time and money in helping these animals and THEY are the ones who want to ensure the dog doesn’t end up on the street or back in a shelter.

Considering the number of dogs surrendered for nipping at a child, for getting pregnant (especially from a stray mutt!), for spraying urine to mark territory (when they haven’t been altered), for not being as cute and playful as they were as puppies (because people buy puppies forgetting they turn into dogs), who weren’t adequately trained because the owners couldn’t invest enough time, I don’t see how someone can get their panties in a twist because an organization wants certain standards met before they let you bring home on of their rescue animals! The rescues aren’t being unreasonable, they just know too well WHY dogs get dumped by their owners.

I’m sure there are plenty of puppy mills and backyard breeders who will sell you a dog at full price, with no questions asked. You can probably find a dog in the newspaper or on Craigslist that will fit the bill. If you’re going through a rescue, however, keep in mind that their primary goal is that the animal only needs to be rescued once, and they will do what needs to be done to make sure that happens. You are not entitled to any given dog. No one owes you a dog simply because you want one. It’s not about what you want; it’s about what’s best for both prospective owner and prospective pet. The rescue has a right to set the standards that protect the animals.

You don’t like it? Get your dog somewhere else, but don’t complain about how you’re being oppressed. You just sound ridiculous.

Yesterday, we brought home this very handsome, if hairy, three-year-old boy:

Right now, he’s going by the name Apache, because that’s the rescuers called him, but Tank and Daddyman both like “Badge” as an alternative. Any other suggestions for the happy-go-lucky McLernins beagle boy?

Just look at that sweetness:

We rescued Apache through Dogs on Death Row. If you’re looking for a new pet, please, please consider adopting a rescue animal. Apache had been fully vetted and he’s great with kids. As an adult dog, he isn’t giving us any of that high-need puppy trouble, but because he’s spent time with people, he’s eager to love and please. Walking him is a little like walking a small, furry steam engine, but he has deposited all poops and pees in the appropriate outdoor venue and he is tolerant of Babypie’s alternated aggressive love and attempts at force-feeding blueberries. He’s currently protecting our stairs with his sleeping body. Good boy.