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.

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

Amen Laurie! I remember you mentioning these neighbors before and I give you so much credit for talking to them. I would hate to see a dog treated this way. I have never seen this happen around here and it would haunt to no end. I can't believe the dogs would have to remain outside in this cold weather that we've been having too. There are no words.

[FrenchPoodleDoodle]

Great blog, Mom. I definitely agree! Also, I have a new reason for you to move to OR. A new bill was just passed  (HB 2783) that will become effective in January, 2014. This bills limits how and for how long you can tether a dog. You can read about it here: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/06/tethering_dogs....

It does not end this practice, but is a really small step toward improving the issue of "chronically chained dogs."  

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

You are so right on with this topic, Laurie!!! Our previous neighbors kept two hunting dogs in their backyard. They'd built them a "very nice" large dog run, complete with a covered portion to keep out the elements. And on cold nights, they'd let the dogs sleep in the garage. I never saw anybody play with the dogs. Yet, I'm sure they felt they were good owners as the dogs had regular food and water. Why even have a dog?

[Stella]

Laurie, I love you!!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I can see them now that the leaves have fallen. They are getting so old.  Now, just last month, a new neighbor moved in with two more dogs. He has them in the side yard. A tiny one and one I cant see. But they are out there too.  Two doors down, another man has his gorgeous dog on a huge car chain.  We did report him and he is being better. Not much, but better. 

It's killing me here to listen to this.  I dont know how to  help

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Cheryl, I love that thought about God being a dog. I say all the time I hope what goes around, comes around for these people who neglect and chain their dogs outside. However, a dog would probably be far more forgiving than I feel. I am so glad Finn has you back where you belong. I know how he loves you. I am with you about elephants and whales. I hate circuses and if you ever saw the movie, Water for Elephants, no one would ever go to one again. Oh, and in regards to bull fighting, I always root for the bull and can't imagine anyone thinking that is a sport. Shameful!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Joanne, This is how I feel. Our neighbor has a Springer Spaniel chained up outside and a dog not much bigger than a Chihuahua. When I told his wife the small dog was far too small for the outside elements, she said they put him out because he pees in the house and she wanted to find him a home, but her husband really likes him. I think I said, "Dear God, what if he didn't like the dog." Report them. It can't hurt.

Karen, You are always brave and always stick up for an abused animal. No one does it better. Thank you! Thank you also for your sweet, last comment. I feel the same way about you!

Miss Ellie, I agree with every word you wrote :) Thank you!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Ginny, I wish it were true and I am so glad all of your siblings and you grew up to be wonderful animal lovers.

Camilla, Thank you for your comment and thank you for realizing that parking lot guy was a jerk :) LOL I was very nervous going down there and it really didn't help the dog much except he was moved further up the hill. The problem is this guy will just keep getting dogs and he has kids. I so hope they grow up and feel differently about their animals. Look at Ginny and you!!

BG, I love that story about Ice and your parents. Makes my heart happy. I am so glad he died an "indoor dog". Thank you for sharing that story!

Thanks, Charlotte and Jane!

F, I can be serious once in a while, too :) I know you always tell it like it is and I like that about you, EXCEPT if I am on the receiving end :) LOL Nothing riles me up more than phones and recordings and not getting a live person on the other end. I hope they don't record what customers are saying while on hold :)

Thanks, Sandy and Leslie!

Allyson, Thank you!! I can't imagine all the things we would miss if our dogs were outside. I don't even want to think about. Both mine are curled up on the bed with me as I write this comment. Happy Thanksgiving to you!!

Nicky, I can just hear you saying "where else would they live?" Makes me smile! Thank  you!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Laurie, I sooo agree with you.  Sometimes, you just have to speak up.  Right now Finn is lying next to me on the couch, sharing my lap with my laptop --and making it ridiculously hard to type :)  I've been gone for 3 days - and I'm sure he was fine staying with his friend Annie, but you can just feel how content he is to be home with his pack--me :)  I can't imagine any dog being chained outside alone day and night --but then I can't imagine kidnapping baby whales or isolating elephants in circus pens. The more I learn, the more I'm fascinated by animals' social structures, and their abilities to communicate, (which in some ways is much better than our own) so I think if you can't care for an animal in a way that respects their needs, both physical and emotional, you shouldn't have them.  And dogs are very adaptable to different situations.  I've seen dogs out west that are live outside, in the barn, and are very happy, because they work side by side and interact with their owners everyday. In fact, I've seen homeless people that are better caretakers of their dog than others who are better off. PA is especially shameful, because dogs are considered "livestock" and we have a governor who has openly disregarded the laws we do have, in favor of a vocal lobby in central PA.   

OK -so here's a crazy thought for the day.  What if God is really a dog? Won't that be "a kick in the pants" for some people arriving at the pearly gates ha!       

[Ginny Nightingale]

Oh, man, I agree 100000% with you, Laurie! I grew up with outdoor dogs too--one was just three months older than I was and lived until I was 16--I feel that he was more of a brother to me than my really lousy brother was. "Bing" was officially my brother's dog--purchased to distract him when his baby sister came along (me) but when I was old enough, I was the one who brushed him, fed him and comforted him during storms--the closest I got to having an indoor dog was the basement--mom would let him go down there when he got very old and it was winter--but that was it.

So, since then I have always had dogs in my house, in my bed and everywhere---I am  surrounded by them as I type this---my brother has had many dogs too and treats them well and my sister just loves her Himalayan cats--maybe if you grow up with a dog that is chained out, you go on to pamper your pets as an adult? Wouldn't that be nice? If only it were true..