“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” – Mark Twain
I like animals. All sorts, dogs, cats, fish anything really. All of those animals make great pets. Down side is some people make crap pet owners. I was out for a run today (and this is not the first time this has happened) when about 700m ahead of mean I could see a man walking his pitbull.
This rocket scientist liked to walk his dog through the park with no lead on, which I’m pretty sure is against the law, but I digress. I used to love letting my dog run around the park with no lead on. It was great to give him the freedom and let him go nuts chasing us and a tennis ball around. But I like to think we had a bit of common sense though.
At the first site of another dog or other people we would put Max’s lead straight back on. Of course Max (pictured on the left) would take 5 months to gnaw through your leg! But that’s not the point, it’s all about controlling your dog and having respect for others using the park.
So here I am about 700m away from this guy and his, let’s face it, killer dog, running toward them. I’ve seen them and they’ve seen me, no doubt about it. Now a dog that has been known to have an aggressive temperament, a dog that no doubt has a job at their place to protect their home and family, is off the lead and headed my way.
Now I’m running toward them, so what does this owner think I would look like to this dog? If you said a threat, you’d be correct. With about 400m to go before we cross paths, I get smart and decide I’ll walk from here, but it’s too late. The dog starts going mental and barking like a demon from hell. All teeth, all angry. Then he starts to run toward me.
That’s when the brick factory started up in my pants.
The owner decided it would be a good idea at this point to call for “Killer” and get him back on the lead. The dog heard the owner and he came running back. He put the lead on and pulled the dog back (why he didn’t do this 5 minutes ago I have no idea).
As I past him the dog started going bananas again and “Killer’s” owner reigned him in. Then the owner says, “You’re OK, he’d probably lick you to death!”
I smiled and walked on, not sure when it would be safe to start running again. Seriously? He’d probably lick me to death?
Get a brain mate, you have an aggressive dog, treat it with the respect it deserves and treat other park users with the respect they deserve!
I shouldn’t have to go for a run fearing I might be attacked by your dog, just because you think he’s harmless (when he obviously isn’t) when all you needed to do was keep him on a lead!
And that folks is what grinds my gears!
Let me know what you think!