A Dogs Life

I own a dog, a Chihuahua called Milly. When I walk Milly I get laughed at, a lot. Now whilst that’s to be expected given that I am a big bloke walking a small dog, I do take pride in the fact in the fact that I am a responsible dog owner. You see, around here there is a growing number of dog owners that shouldn’t be allowed to keep fleas let alone canines.

I shudder in revulsion when I see the piles of dog poop that litter the streets, despite the warning signs that the council are supposed to fine those that do not pick up after their dogs. How easy is it to at least carry a small plastic bag with you when walking your pooch? It’s hardly much of an effort is it? Not only is it unsightly in the extreme, it is damned unhygienic and dangerous to boot. There is little out there more annoying than stepping in a freshly laid dog turd and said doggy poo carries all sorts of horrid diseases.

Then we pass onto the people that decide to walk their dogs off leash in a busy public place. This truly does make me shudder when I see it. It’s almost always owners of Staffordshire Bull Terriers and said owners are almost always either chavs or alkies/junkies if not an unholy combination of both. When walking ones dog in a park or deserted place then it’s fine, so long as your dog has good recall should it be needed. However, when that dog is on a busy pavement with a busy road beside it then how on earth do you let it off the lead? How on earth do you not realise that it could barrel off into a confrontation or worse still, your dog being hit by a car?

Those Staffies mentioned above? I do not wish to do any breed a disservice, as I know full well Staffies, along with Rottweilers, Dobermans and Pit Bulls are brilliant dogs and faithful and loving companions when raised right but that’s the operative phrase, when they are raised right. Far too often people get them as status dogs and use them to intimidate and make themselves look hard. This is often followed by the evil of dog fighting, both for sport and for recreation, the latter of which I have been unfortunate enough to come across. There’s also the curse of over breeding with people trying to use their dogs to tap into the vein of status dogs and ending up with litters of puppies that no one wants. These poor little souls are all too often just casually, cruelly dumped.

So what is the answer? Clearly those that are feckless enough to be so lackadaisical in the pet care are not going to get a dog licence so that’s out of the question. Should we licence humans to own pets? I’m not sure how that would work. I would love to see all dog owners, regardless of breed being made to prove where they got their puppies from, in order to crack down on those that over breed. Also, those that are found to be allowing their dogs to foul should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. This would force those that may walk on by when their dog squats to take care of business, so to speak. A leash law, in urban spaces at the very least is also needed. The thing is, any legislation cannot be brought in against just Pit Bull types. It needs to applied to ALL breeds.

I know that the majority of dog owners are usually responsible but it’s the bad apples that are spoiling things for the rest of us and for non canines lovers too.