I genuinely don't understand how you people leave the house without protective gear and helmets.
Mr. go go,
You have not addressed the FACT that you're breaking the law by having your dog unleashed. How do you respond to this FACT?
It bothers me about as much as when I go 6mph over the posted speed limit or roll through a stop sign when no one is around. Spirit of the Law vs. Letter of the Law. Are you saying you've never sped? Do you stand at neighborhood intersections and shake your fist at people who don't make complete stops? I do not care that it's technically against the law for several reasons. About 60% of the people that use the trails where I run with my dog feel the same way. And 99% of the remaining 40% who leash their dogs don't appear to be bothered by it either. It's probably less than 1 in 100 people I come across that give the condescending lecture (despite no actual problems arising from her being unleashed). The law is there to keep dangerous animals from harming people - mission accomplished with mine.
Second, how do you respond to the earlier poster's line of, "I'd hate to see a good dog get put down because you're an irresponsible owner?"
Who's putting my dog down and why? Did my dog attack someone? She should be put down then because she's not a good dog and is a danger. Is she getting put down because someone called animal control who deemed me an unworthy dog owner and had no choice but to put her down? Not very likely. Is some uptight prick taking the law into their own hands and killing my dog simply because she's off the leash? You'll have to clarify.
I await your response. I'll rate your troll effort accordingly, so be sharp!
Please give me your grade ASAP, your input is highly valuable to me.
Here's the problem,
Here's the problem, actually three problems:
1. You're breaking the law. - Don't give an eff (see above)
2. You're endangering your dog. - No.
3. You're endangering other people and dogs. - Nope.
My dog is in no danger. She obeys and heels and intersections (though I still leash her 100m or so before and after just in case she sees a squirrel or something on the other side of the road). No one else or their dog is in danger either. Is it within her capability to snap and start devouring small children with no warning? I ... guess so? But it's also within my capability to just stab you as I run by. Doesn't mean it's going to happen. Do you keep your kids on leashes? One of them could just snap and start biting me.
I know you love your dog. I'm sure it's a great pet. But it's still an animal. Animals do unpredictable things, sometimes things they've never done before. Like bite people. Or attack other dogs. Or run out in front of a moving car. You can't honestly say that you KNOW your dog would never do this- you CAN'T know that, because your dog is an animal. It does not have the reasoning ability that humans do. Therefore, it is capable of doing unpredictable and seemingly out of character things.
Well, I have no argument against the possibility of my dog going berserk after nearly a decade of being well behaved. But again, how do you people leave the house? Your coworker could come into the office tomorrow and shoot the place up. A telephone pole could fall on your car. Is this really how you live your life? Preparing for the .0001% chance that something bad could happen? I've got thousands of miles with my dog. Everything seems okay so far.
Besides, all it would take is one phone call to city hall from one of your pesky neighbors, and you'd be getting a visit from animal control. If you love your dog, why would you risk that? Seems foolish and irresponsible to me.
This is where I come to realize that you've made some pretty big assuming leaps about me. Neighbors? Who said anything about my neighborhood? My dog is behind a fence at home and leashed when we run in the neighborhoods since it's all streets. Why would anyone in my neighborhood call me in? Are you talking about people seeing me on a trail and calling me in? They're going to have to act pretty fast to get us. And even if they did, I'm not above lying and saying I was adjusting her collar and she got away for a few meters. Do you really think I'm going to get taken down in a sting operation? Because my dog runs next to me without a leash and doesn't bother anyone? Christ, I hope the authorities have better things to do.
Wise Owl,
Saul, you've missed the entire point. People running by don't know what your dog will do and quite frankly, neither do you, because it's an animal. Quit treating it like a person and obey the law. Have some respect for people like you do for animals.
I have missed no points. I understand what you people are saying and I kinda agree with you. I think you have the right to be upset with crappy dogs/owners and the crappy situations they make. What I've refuted is that a leash is 100% necessary 100% of the time. My dog's fine. I don't need lectures about how dangerous she is to herself and everyone around her when she's off-leash. Do you suggest people leash their dogs at home? They could snap and attack you, your kids, your company. But this isn't about actual safety. It's about a small minority of people that have to take such offense and set themselves up as victims over trivial crap.
Not making this up, the worst attack my dog ever got (she's been nipped by others and her stupid ass just keeps running) was from a leashed dog whose owner couldn't control it. Leashing isn't the safety issue, the dogs and their owners are.