Be Nice!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a lot of benefits to getting older, except that you get away with less sugar coating and more blunt talk.  I have just decided the older I get the less likely I am to bottle up my feelings and suffer fools gladly. Whether this is a good plan remains to be seen and some members of my family will tell you my age has nothing to do with any of this and I have never bottled up one thought or feeling or kept quiet about things that bug me. The other week, John and I had to go to the funeral home for a viewing and there was a man with a flashlight parking cars for what couldn’t have been more than ten cars in a rather smallish parking lot.  As I turned the corner, both John and I agreed that his pointer was facing the parking lot in the direction he wanted me to go, and so I turned the way he was pointing and as I drove by him he yelled, “HEY!”  His tone and loudness immediately irritated me and without thinking I screamed back, “WHAT?” Of course, John pointed out that we were in a funeral home parking lot and a fistfight with the mortician/parking person was not going to bode well with the family inside.  I quickly pointed out that a loud HEY was going to get a loud WHAT every time from me and by that time the guy was at my window and I stopped debating heys and whats long enough to say, “May I help you?”  He was obviously upset that I did not take his flashlight more seriously and instructed me that he was there to park cars and since I had such an enormous car, an ordinary minivan, I would probably not be able to maneuver the ordinary parking lot containing ten cars tops without his help and I should park off to the side.  It was clear that the authority he had been given when he was assigned to park cars had clearly gone to his head, so I parked where he told me, but did state to John that the day I couldn't park my minivan in a pull up spot without help is the day my license should be revoked.  John said he wished I had rolled up my window before stating the obvious.

 

The point I am trying to make is not that I have a propensity to want to fight morticians or authoritative figures, but that sometimes rude behavior can get the best of me.  I try to be nice and considerate, but something about that guy screaming at me got to me that day and I reacted.  Sometimes, the littlest thing just rubs a person the wrong way and other times we may feel strongly about a topic and something causes us to act in a way others may not understand.  I feel this way about chained dogs.  I have never in my life understood why people get dogs and chain them up outside.  Here in PA, I am ashamed to say you see it a lot and nobody seems to get too worked up about it and the laws here protect the person doing the chaining.  In many counties, and I live in one of them, you are allowed to chain up your dog 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as long as you provide food and shelter.  Some people here buy those large runs that look like oversized crates, add a doghouse, and stick a dog out there.  The dog is confined to this space and set apart from the family.  I have heard all kinds of excuses…the dog is too wild in the house, the dog pees in the house, the dog is a hunting dog, the dog is out there for protection….and none of them seem good enough to me to cast aside a family member and subject him or her to a lifetime of separateness, solitude, boredom, and loneliness. Besides, what kind of protection can a chained or locked up dog provide? It seems to me it would be far safer to have them in the house. 

 

Seriously, if I was able to confine a member of my family outside for an indefinite period of time any time they did not listen, acted wild, or got on my nerves, both my girls would have spent their teenage years outside and far enough away from the house that I couldn’t hear them yell the word MOM ever.  That one syllable word can be the longest word in the English language when you have two daughters who thought their mom should settle matters like Judge Judy with sworn testimony, affidavits, and witnesses.  They could never understand why they both got in trouble and I cared less about who was right and more about how to make them stop talking.  If my dogs had to behave to stay inside, then they would be in trouble, too.  Vern loves the outdoors. Some days I have trouble getting him back inside and the colder the weather, the better.  It would be easy to say he prefers it outside and put a dog house out there and find out what it feels like to sleep an entire night without having to take him out, but I would miss out on all the perks of owning an inside dog.  If I stuck both my dogs outside, I would never know that Fudge likes to spoon in bed in the mornings and her swinging paw means to keep rubbing.  I wouldn’t know that Vern’s big paw on your shoulder when he sits beside you on the couch means he wants to cuddle and when he yawns he likes to have you say, “Vern, you have some big teefers.”  If my dogs were outside dogs, I wouldn’t know what it felt like to come home and step inside my house to wagging tails and joyous dogs.  I would miss so much and never really understand what all the fuss is about when people talk about the love they have for a dog.

 

Yet, even if I listed all the things I would miss if I stuck my dog outside on a chain or in a run, it would never compare to what the dog would miss in his lifetime.  My neighbor has a couple of chained dogs outside.  I have reported him so many times and nothing ever changes. It’s all legal here in Pennsylvania, because he has a couple of crappy houses for the dogs and sticks food and water out there. I have been down there in person and asked once if they could at least move one of their dogs to higher ground after seeing the rain and mud pool in the area he used to have him at the bottom of a hill.  They moved him, but he is still chained. When I take Vern out in the middle of the night, I can hear his dogs barking and it makes me sad that this is the life they have been given.  The irony is not lost on me that I am taking Vern out in the middle of the night because I worry about his comfort and yet there is a dog just down the hill from us who is outside in the cold and rain and no one cares about his comfort. Once, John waved at our neighbor as we drove by and got an earful about waving to a jerk who treats his animals the way he does and even though I understood John’s natural inclination to “be nice”, it felt wrong.  It’s the same feeling I get when people tell other people to “be nice” when they get upset when someone posts they had to put their dog outside because it was too much for them to have the dog in the house.  I would bet any amount of money that my neighbor does not spend the time or money vaccinating his dogs, or applying flea or tick medicine, or administering Heartworm medication, or keeping him clean, and nothing he ever said would make that right in my book or qualify as love for a dog by the biggest stretch of my imagination.  So, maybe it is time to stop being so nice and time to stop worrying if you offended somebody and speak up any way you can.  At this time when we have so much to be thankful for, please take the time to Google who you can write in your city or state to voice your opinion on chained dogs and how we must stop allowing this to go on.  Maybe if enough of us stop being “so nice” we can make a difference, because I am a firm believer that people who do this in the first place aren't going to be stopped by "nice" and stricter laws are the only thing that will work.

[Pat and Traveler]

Great blog, Laurie!  I just don't understand how people can be so cruel to their animals.  You're right--being nice won't do any good.  I'm glad Oregon is taking some steps in the right direction.  Baby steps, but steps in the right direction. 

In the middle of reading this blog, Trav appeared with his big red rubber bone.  He growls and prances, tail wagging and eyes sparkling.  This signals chase time, which we do two or three times a day.  He runs and I chase him around the house, and we both love this game.  I shudder to think that this sweet, happy dog might  have ended up like so many others, chained and neglected.   

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Ways we can all help: http://www.unchainyourdog.org/

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Megan, Did you read any of the comments to the link you posted? Just shows how horrible some people can be about dogs.

Cheryl, I tried to find the Fences for Fido link. Is it an organization that helps build fences for chained dogs?? There is another organization out there called Dogs Deserve Better that does this, too.

Joanne, Most states require that chained dogs at least have shelter. Do those dogs have any way to get out of the elements?? If not, I would call the police.

Lori, You are so lucky not to have seen a chained dog in your area. I hope that continues. Sounds like you picked the best spot to sleep on your trek out west. A walk through the bathroom does not sound like much fun.....LOL!! You are right...you certainly cannot legislate compassion. Too bad, because we need so much of it.

Jane, I agree..I think it is animal abuse, too.

Sue, You did write a blog to my blog :) You make many good points. I still don't understand how anyone can be immune to the charms of a dog. My sister married a wonderful man who was raised on a farm. No dogs allowed inside for them. Their family dog stayed outside. I never understood it, but he was not chained and had the run of their property. I am so glad that John is not a hunter. So, so glad. I would have a hard time with that, too. Our dogs got lucky!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

HA! I think I wrote a blog to your blog. Is that possible?

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I love your blogs Laurie, but especially this one, as it is such an important subject. It breaks my heart to hear dogs in the neighborhood barking outside, day and night, so that you just know they live outside. We all have 6 ft brick walls around our properties in our development, so I can't see them chained, and in my minds eye, they all are running free in their big backyards and have cute little doggie condos with endless food and water as they live outside. This fantasy idea of their life makes me feel a little less nauseous every time I walk by those houses with my dogs and the outside dogs come running and barking at the wooden fences. I cant bear the thought of them being outside in our Arizona summers anymore than those in the PA winters. How do they endure it? But there is another world of dog owners out there that we will never understand. We have it in our own family.
My sister and brother in law live on a farm in northern Fla. They raise many animals, and they hunt for food and of course eat or sell what they raise or hunt. Animals are just animals and their dogs are just dogs. They remain outdoors, chained by the back door, and are only let loose for hunting when needed. Its a culture and a mindset that is as foreign to us as is the fact that we pay so much for our dogs, and take such impeccable care of them and actually bathe and brush and send them to groomers and sleep with our dogs, in our own beds, is to them. By their standards, upbringing, lifestyles and purposes, they can not comprehend that they are doing anything wrong to their dogs, "cuz that's what dogs are for". These dogs are meant to help them survive by hunting and they are only required to take care of the basic needs of their dogs to help them to that end. To them that is food, shelter and keeping them out of harms way from predators or cars in the road. I have to say I do love how well their dogs eat, as they are given only raw foods. Most of it is remains from their freshly butchered cows, pigs, chickens or from what they've hunted, along with fresh raw veggies from the fields. At least they aren't getting IAMS or Science Diet. Sadly, They aren''t given meds like our dogs, or rushed to the vet for every upset tummy. If they succumb to an illness, the local vet makes a trip out and they are either cured or put to sleep. Not a lot of mourning goes on, they just go find another hunting dog from a neighbors unexpected litter, to tie up outside. Life goes on. This orientation is so very different from all of ours who see our dogs as companions, as family members and to many, as our best friends. They really do think that just providing these dogs with those basics, that those dogs are treated better than those poor homeless mutts that are out there fending for themselves. That at least their dogs have food and are somewhat sheltered and safe. That they are doing these dogs a big favor by giving them what they do. And that is all they ever feel they need or should do. To them, abuse would be letting them go wild, what they are doing is not abuse in their eyes. \How do we change that? How do you make someone feel love and compassion for something that they think are just a step above any other animal they would shoot to kill if it were out in the wild?
So the laws are a great step towards educating those who don't see anything wrong with how they treat their dogs. Because I really do think it is ignorance for the most part. I for one will do what I can do to make a great life for the two dogs I chose to bring into my home and do what little I can to affect change in other dog owners minds when given the opportunity, because like your blog started with Laurie, as I get older, I have a smaller and smaller filter on my thoughts and what comes out of my mouth. Not sure it's always appreciated, but age has afforded me that luxury.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm just catching up, Laurie......and I think this blog if so important.  There's no time or reason to be "politically correct" about animal abuse....let's all call it what it is. 

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I am a little late to this discussion-I had to add that the passion and conviction in your essay, Laurie, is moving.  It is hard for me to imagine this-I don't ever remember seeing a chained dog in the areas I have lived.  But the imagination can fill in the blanks, and it is inconceivable to me, as to so many others, why someone would want to have a dog to keep on a chain out of the house. 

I do recall visiting my brother-in-laws rural South Dakota farm when I traveled cross county with a girlfriend- my nephew was with us and we drove to the farm to visit his bachelor uncles.  Very, very farm.  My very Brooklyn girlfriend, in her 1970's hippie short shorts, halter top with no bra (typical look the for Brooklyn) also had her dog with her "Princess".  Well them there farm boys could not figure out lots about us city girls, but I think more than anything else they were surprised at how she treated "Princess"!  The bedrooms were all upstairs, and you had to walk THROUGH the only bathroom to get there.  We were camping out most nights anyway and so we opted to pitch our tent in the yard and so "Princess" slept with us, not chained, but cuddled between us.  I guess I am lucky that this is as close as I have been to an outside dog.  

Laws are a good thing.  But unfortunately, you cannot legislate compassion.  We are fortunate to have those who do not only care but also advocate among us.  

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

FrenchPoodleDoodle- I'm sending this to my State Legislatures! I'm going to attach my pictures. Probably wont help the dogs out there in last nights horrible weather but hope for future animals. He'll, even cows have barns and chickens get coops. Birds will migrate. These chains are a sentence

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

French Poodle Doodle, you definitely need to come here more often :) The Oregon bill is something we can all forward to our lawmakers and share on Facebook. A small step but a step.  When I went to the article, I also clicked on Fences for FIdo, and watched the video.  I want to move to Oregon to volunteer :) Laurie, maybe we need a PA "chapter."   

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Joanne, I know how hard this is for you, because you are a kind, compassionate woman. I wish I knew what to say. As long as I live, I will never understand some people. Makes me sick.

Thank you, Stella!

Deanna, I had a friend who grew up with hunting dogs kept outside in a pen. He did the same thing to his hunting dog. I could hardly go over to his house and we had words about it on more than one occasion.

Megan, Get a bigger place....Dad and I are moving it with you :)

Janie, You are lucky this doesn't happen around you. It happens everywhere in our small town.