As I have mentioned the other day, I want to move away form the neighbourhood I live in at the moment, given that it is a rat and chav infested shithole. So, with the possibility of a nice bunce coming my way soon, courtesy of my mum, I may be moving sooner than I had anticipated. Therefore, I have been casting my eye around at places to live, that is when my eye does not rove over the ladies!
I’ve been looking at the small ads in the local papers but I don’t trust the private landlords there. The other day, with time to kill, I decided to check out the letting agents in my preferred option, Rochester. Some of them gave me a few things to think over with regard to rent but 2 of them have given something quite else to stew over. Obviously I have to consider my furry family and I have to ask if the letting agents will allow pets. Most of them are fine, one said a blanket no, which is their right, 2 said only if I paid an extra deposit but the 2 I mentioned? They’ve pissed me off
See, they asked me what pets I had. I told them I had a dog and 2 cats. They both enquired as to the breed o dog and when I told them Milly was a Chihuahua, they were fine. However they both said that they wont allow certain breeds. I asked both letting agents what breeds were verboten and they reeled off a list of Rottweilers, Dobermans, mastiffs or any Bull Terrier breed. The first one told me because all those breeds are dangerous and vicious dogs! The second one was about to tell me something similar but I walked out in a huff.
I am honestly stunned as to peoples ignorance over dogs and certain breeds. The only 2 dogs to ever bite me were a Yorkshire Terrier when I was 14 and on a paper round and my mums Chi, the other day when I was petting it. Each and every Staffie I have met has been wonderfully silly and soppy, the Rotties have been handsome and calm pooches. This feeling of hatred towards certain dogs makes my blood boil. There’s talk of banning certain breeds from being bred, or owned. There’s talk of licensing and forcing the owners to castrate and muzzle their dogs. There’s all sorts o dog specific legalisation being talked about but the only breeds ever mentioned, at least here, are Staffies and the like.
Breed specific legislation is not the way forward and people need to let go of their petty hatred towards certain breeds. As a loving owner of the smallest breed you can get, I can assure you all, that whilst I have her under control, Milly is far, FAR more likely to attack than a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. There’s a need for a more concerted effort to change the image and perception of the status dogs
Very well said, my brother across the Atlantic! The reason we were able to get Lotus? She had been promised by the rescue to another family who had planned to give her to their 5 yr. old daughter as an Easter gift (fuck the bunny, here's a pitbull!) -- their landlord allowed dogs but when they found out her breed, they said no.
ReplyDeleteMy town actually classifies pitbulls (ONLY pitbulls, no other dog breeds) as "wild animals" rather than dogs, and requires owners to get a wild animal permit, rather than a dog license -- the same permit you would need to keep a chimpanzee or mountain lion.
not only does breed specific legislation not solve anything, it only exacerbates the problem. People will just crossbreed their dogs to get around it or become even more irrespnsible in their ownership.
ReplyDeleteThere 4 breeds here that are tightly controlled under the Dangerous Dogs Act. the American Pit Bull, Dogo Argentino, Fila Braziliero and Japanese Tosa. People also seem to lump in Staffies and English Bull Terriers in with Pit Bulls as well, they all get tarred with the same ignorant brush.
Every time there's a story of a child being attacked by a dog, people mention the dog being destroyed under the above act. it makes me want to scream as the dogs themselves are not dangerous, it's the damned irresponsible owners not training and socialising their dogs properly as you and Josh have with your pooches.