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Rants on Dogs Tied outside Stores

CyberKitten
November 17th, 2007, 12:05 AM
Last evening on,m y way home from work, I had to stop into our "Superstore" om Quinpool Ave (if anyone from the Maritimes knows where that is) to restock the pantry as they say. It was cold, kind of rainy and well, just not warm weather. I would NEVER walk my dog in it , unless of course s/he had to do her biz and then it would be short - tho prob with a few "hurry up honey" thrown in on my part, lol

However, this fellow arrived with his wife and maybe one chiild- there were so many people in that store that night, it was tough to tell if the child was ith them but it did appear that way. (I would NOT make a good witness in ocurt on this,m I know, lol). I ws admittedly shocked when he pulled out the dog's leash (Suilly me, I said to my bf, "Oh look, he must have a guide dog" - the dog was a lab). BUT- no, he tied him up and did not lick it either. (Even when I bike to the Superstore which is not very often -I lock it or some time bring it across the street to a local bike shp or ask the folks at customer service, one of whom I know - a former patients who is all grown up, going to school and working there. I ask if I can leave it there and they;ll watch it. It's not a "bad" area but there are a few panhandlers - it is about 10 min from the university I am affiliated with, the largest in the city but not far from St. Mary's either. I have seen dogs tied there in the day time too and have been appalled. And this man seemed about my age but had the sense of a well, toad and that is being unkind to the poor toad.We have a saying here that so and so "does not have the sense God gave geese:" - and that might explain it. Geese at least go south for the summer and they can fly in V formation and do all sorts of neat stuff, lol And toads have some tricks too. maybe someone will have a show where geese, =toads and cats and dogs and bunnies can f=show off their smart human or stupid human tricks,lol (But I digress- sorry!!!)

Anyway - not exceptionally good at keeping my mouth closed tho neither is my bf - in his case, he was born in Mabou, cape Breton which explains it all and in my defense, I take after my grandmother from Galway , Ireland and my Jewish grandma who had something to say about every topic on earth I think - and then some and then I spent all those yrs in Boston where I learned to be almost as assertive as the Yanks who taught me- and they were Yanks, well most of em.One of my fav nurses at Children's Hospital hailed from Brooklyn - in NYCity - not the small village in Nova Scotia near Liverpool tho there are 3 Brooklyns in NS, lol - so now I tend to say things I sometimes should not. I a,m always unfailingly polite but I do speak up. I asked him if he worried about the dog's safety "That mutt", he stated in what to my pet lover's ears sounded a little disparaging , no , a LOT disparaging , "who'll want him?" I tried o explain about bouchers, unkind people who could harm him, etc, etc but I lost the battle. I finally resorted to "don't you know it's against the law to abandon your pet?" He claimed not be abandoning him- where was he going to put him? You could ask someone to watch him, ask if you bring him in . (It is cold , you never know). Finally, he was bout to tell me where to go and myt bf grabbed me out of there while the aforementioned "dog owner" was yelling about how he had a huge fur coat - the dog he meant.

Did I go too far? Why do people do these things? I got his name, heard his wife call him by his first name and then in an aisle, someone said Hello Mr,. so and so" (Nancy Drew I'm not but...lol) - now I have to check the lawe in NS to see if that does constitute bad behviour! Cruelty. It wad endangering a pet in my view. He also bought generic grocery store food - that in itself should be basis for cruelty but I know it's not, sigh!! Oh, and I looked at the dog closely - prob about 2-5 yrs of age and not neutered!!! Looks like a lab but may have some other breed - perhaps a little Irish setter or even German Shepherd, ard to say exactly but 75% is lab. (Tho one would need DNA to know that - darn, I should have got that too right, lol).



I know it was wring but I looked up the dog's so called "owner" in a database I created for someone. Lives in a run down part of the city but that's no excuse. I now many people not well off who take excellent care of their pets Socioeconomic status in no excuse for NOT caring for your pets!! I see a panhandler on Spring Garden Rd- near my office - who brings his dog and when he gets food (many peple give him Tim's or McD certificates, I know I do - Tim's McD is not of nutritional value enough even if I do like the occasional McNugget, lol) - either from the cets or the Salvation Army who set up a food station near where many phandlers stand - he feeds the dog first, always and without exception when I have seen him, (We sometime eat lunch at a restaurant ner there) so he is a rime example of that. I even once had a teenage patient who had a cat- and her mother told her she cold have a cat only if she cared for it because they would not afford it and she got an extra job after school at a local retail outlet and much of the money went to her kitty. She did not trust her folks to care for her "baby" as she called him so for the duration he was in the hospital, (she would not go in otherwise to have chemo!), I cat sat "Baby" in my home. What was one more cat with my brood, lol I also had him neutered while I had him - she was still saving up for that and did not realize vets would take payments. You would have thought I;'d given her a million bucks!!!! And she survived her chemo so much better knowing her beloved cat was doing fine. Admittedly, some of my fellow colleagues thought I was a little crazy but my aunt - a psychiatrist - thought I was just fine - and I told them so, :laughing:(Plus at the time, she headed the America Psychiatric Asnn they had to listen to her, heheh) Well, not had to but you know what I mean. :D She had more credibility in that area that I did or do, lol (Tho she did admit to me she has never cared for a patient's pets to get them in the hospital tho I did point out to her she has "that 72 hour" hold thing" she can rise. Pediatricians are not so enamored, lol) Prob a GOOD ting come to think of it!!

TeriM
November 17th, 2007, 12:31 AM
Wow CK, you really do write big posts :D.

I have tied my dog outside a store :o. I sometimes used to take a great walk along some trails to get to a local grocery store and doubled my efficiency by walking the dog and getting some errands done (plus save on gas!). I did make sure to tie her safely out of the way but still within easy sight if I needed and of course it was always a very quick trip inside.

As for the weather, my dogs and I walk in all types. They are labs and really are game for just about any condition and living on the west coast I would never get out if we waited for a great day.

CyberKitten
November 17th, 2007, 12:49 AM
I know - one of my colleagues at work now asks me to send him the Cole's Notes version, lol

I guess I thought this was an area where it is not sae to leave a small child )any child for that matter) alone - I myself would not walk there after 10 PM alone. So, to leave a poor pooch there seemed to me to be not a safe thing to do. It was like an accident waiting to happen - especially with our new bylaw. Anyone would have picked dog that dog in a heatrtbeat - bouchers are always on the lookout fo rfruendly dogs to sell to labs and unlike where you shop, this is a HUGE big box store where there is no way anyone can see the dog from any place in the tore. Sure, you'd see him in the produce section and maybe from some of the cashiers but they are all busy and their backs are to the area where the dog wa stied.

I worried about that dog the whole time I was shopping. I won't whine and say it ruined my shopping excursion - tho it did - (and I just broke my own rile, lol) but if you have a small store where people watch out for each other,. that's great. We have a summer place in a small community ion NS - and there is a smaller grocery store I would leave a dog outside in - maybe- the people are quite friendly and might just as might suggest bringing him/her in - but it would be better than this large store. especially at night. I hate to even thin of the many frat houses this place is cose to who might take to he dog for fun - not to harm him - but to have a mascot or something and then where would he be? All kinds of scenarios went thru my head. I guess I have seen so much pain suffered by pets - and children I suppose. I don't know
And I certainly do not think the worst of people but it was such a cold night - of it was cold, he did not have to bring his dog shopping. Could be not have walked the dog at another time? Why combine the two?

I don't now- I had bad vibes about it and my vibes - even tho I am a scientist - rarely fail me, sigh!

ancientgirl
November 17th, 2007, 01:21 PM
What a terrible reply he gave you. "That mutt" & "who would want him"

Why have a pet if you are going to have that attitude about him?:sad:

NoahGrey
November 17th, 2007, 01:48 PM
CK...really..you need to stick to one topic. I had to keep on scrolling up to remember what the story was about.

That story could have been summed up in a paragraph.

ACO22

t.pettet
November 17th, 2007, 07:37 PM
I think its all in how you approach an owner, example: I very sweetly (with a smile) told them that I thought they should roll up the windows and lock the doors on their car as their dog was so cute (sheltie) someone could easily steal her and that there had been dogs stolen from cars in that shopping mall parking lot recently. Also mentioned that some people would do anything for money including selling their pet back to them in the form of a lost/found reward. They both thanked me profusely and proceeded to lock up the car and agreed that they would be so upset if anything happened to her. Not everyone is aware of the harm that could befall their pet.

Element~5
November 17th, 2007, 07:55 PM
I agree with t.pettet. I think it's definitely how you approach people, and if you go at them with an attitude, they might feel threatened, and put their defenses up and get angry.

CyberKitten
November 18th, 2007, 12:14 AM
I was extremely polite and very unassuming. I do not have a threatening approach at all - I am a quiet, low keyed kind of person in spite of my love of debate- but that is with people I know. Even then, I am super polite.

I think there is too much judgment calls being made on this issue by others and I will be honest - and with all due respect, I am a bit sad at the things people have said and yes, have taken them personally. I can't afford to do that with a couple serious transplants coming o Monday so I ma just stay away before then.

Firstly, I see no reason why it matters how long my notes are. I am an award winning writer and editor(both in km work and as a columnist) and teach writing even to med students so when I see mistakes in writing - as there often are here (this is the net, not mastering Effective English - that old standby, lol ), I NEVER make remarks. That is not my place to do and would be extremely impolite and upsetting to the other person and frankly, none of my business. So, I will leave it at that - I write what I have to say - am aware I sometimes write too much but it is who I am, whether people like it or not,. Most seem to not care and if they do say anything about it, it is usually thoughtful and in a caring way, not so well ,never mind, upsetting. I always refrain from telling others how to write since we all have different ways of communication. No one is perfect - I am not - that's why I have an assistnt and when I do write, have a great editor tho I have edited a series recently for the Medical Assn. and a mystery writer - as an aside fun thing.

Cultural differences also play here- and we need to take those into account before being critical of anyone. We have French people who write wonderfully in English and some Angophones who write in different ways but still get their messages across very well. I was taught in French first but Enbglish second so consider both my first languages (my 2nd languages are Hebrew and Gaelic tho I am sure no one care about that, lol) I however like to hear little details about people -details makes us closer and friendlier and as a maritimer, it is how I live and it's important to me. If others find it repulsive, they can siply ignore what I have to say. Or at least not be so mean. I have never been mean to anyone here and it breaks my heart honestly that anyone would do that to me.

This is about this poor dog - NOT me!!! I was very friendly to the so called owner only after the fact in my description did I editorialize. It bothers me to think he'd do that to his dog - in a bust part of the city. If he did it in my neighbourhood, i n all likelihood, the dog would be fine. But not on a busy Quinpool Rd where we recently had the lobster caper - one guy roller bladed thru the store and stole lobsters, lol

Anyway - I am prob written much for some people's thoughts. I did show my post to an English prof whop teaches at the same school where I teach tho I am at the med school - and she - who teaches Internet communication found a few errors in my work but otherwise thought there was nothing wrong with it. Anyway - as much as I love to read this for relaxation and to help others - and tabout my own kitties - I'll leave it tomorrow so I do not get out of focus pre op since one of the operations is on a child I have come to know and love. There just are same who are special - and the group on the T thread know who she is. I guess I think like a maritimer and assume everyone cares about the other person.
Sorry to go off topic!!

let's get back to discussing people who leave their dogs alone.

mummummum
November 18th, 2007, 01:14 AM
CK ~ respectfully ...


Idid show my post to an English prof whop teaches at the same school where I teach tho I am at the med school - and she - who teaches Internet communication found a few errors in my work but otherwise thought there was nothing wrong with it. .


any English Professor in their right mind would have one look at your posts and throw up their hands.

CyberKitten
November 18th, 2007, 03:08 PM
Oh I know that mm, lol I do not write like this at work, thank God!! Here I am usually in a rush, sigh!! I wish I was not but I only have so much time! In my real life - as opposed to virtual, I am a terrible typist but have an editor, lol Still, I actually get paid to be an editor, lol (Maybe they are desperate, heheh- still, I have won a few awards so I know I am doing something right - but I do know sometimes here I am too fast and have no time to edit everything. I really wish I could.) Most ppl tell me they understand me so that's all that matters.

mummummum
November 18th, 2007, 03:16 PM
So, then... It's a good thing we both indulge you and value you kiddo. :grouphug: