An unjust story of responsibility.

Charlie and I went to the dog park today. He got pinned down by an aggressive dog and the owner quickly intervened and corrected his dog, keeping it leashed and apologizing. He asked several times if I was sure Charlie was okay, and that he was sorry. Eventually after a properly restrained meeting including a few minutes of butt sniffing, Charlie and the other dog got along well and played for about 20 minutes.

Along comes this two adult, two child, one dog family. The adults let the dog go and play, and same with the toddlers. The children were hanging off the agility equipment, and one of them came running head first at Charlie. I restrained Charlie and told the father "sir, you need to restrain your child. Charlie is a new rescue and I've never seen him with children." And what did the father do? "Hey baby, go pet the pretty doggy!" WTH?!

If I acted on my instinct to slap the child away, or let Charlie act on his instinct to growl, I would have a police report against me. If, God forbid, Charlie had bit the child, or seriously injured the child, the father would walk away winning a lawsuit and Charlie would be put down.

The toddler grabbed Charlie's face, and I removed his hand and said "No! NO touching!" And the dad corrected me for stopping and touching his child. If that wasn't enough, another family entered the park with a large dog and a small dog. They also had a toddler. I can understand the adults making sure they're all settled in before taking the small dog to the other half of the enclosure intended for small dogs, but no. I guess they selfishly figured that if their big and small dog get along, by golly, every dog would treat the small dog well! 

I did not react in a Christian manner to the increased pressure of the situation. I did not act in a way that would make my parents or extended family proud. I acted in a way that made myself feel justified and proud. I cussed them all out.

"The entire park is safe for your children, and this is not the pen for small dogs!", was met with the statement of "ugh! Excuse me?! My child can be wherever they want to be! They have that right!"

Well, ma'am, my reply will always be the same:   

Your child doesn't have the right to be a tyrant. It doesn't have the right to endanger itself or other members of society. It doesn't have the right to run out in traffic, although at that moment I wish it did. Yes, this reveals me to be intrinsically evil at my base core, but that my friends is concupiscence. The sinful nature of mankind.

The big dog pen is supposed to be a safe place for my dog to be a - get this - DOG. Charlie has the right to run around in that enclosure, play on the agility equipment and in the splash pad in the heat of the Summer. It is the one place he is allowed to be a canine without having to worry about people or pack pleasing. The entire rest of the park is a safe zone for children, where Charlie would be restrained and expected to behave in the way society thinks is appropriate for a dog. 

NOW - about the small dog: If the park had not been full of dogs, adults and children, the small dog would still have been issue enough for me to lose my temper. The smallest of all known dog breeds and right up there with the most vicious of them. These dogs generally grow up to only about ten to twelve inches but seem to try very hard to compensate for their small size by being extremely aggressive. They are, in fact, not recommended for households with small children because of how easily they are provoked. A 2009 study by The Coalition for Living Safely With Dogs and the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association data shows that Chihuahuas are most likely to bite their vets, more so than any other breed. 

After the verbal abuse between strangers I grabbed Charlie's stuff and got him ready to leave the park. It's not fair or just that he should be denied active, roughhouse style play because of idiots. He has to be so CAREFUL around me because I dislocate my shoulder by reaching up to put my hair in a pony tail.

So again, 

I, dog owner, am not the one out of line by my anger.

People, if you have small dogs or children around me, they sure as hell exists better be as behaved as my dog or I'm going to unleash some painful truth right on you, whether I know you or not.