bark bark.

let me preface what i'm about to say by letting you know that i don't hate dogs. in fact there lived one dog in particular with whom i shared the special bond that must drive people to become dog owners. he wasn't even my dog which makes our bond all the more real that he chose to love me and i chose to love him back and we shared some very special person/dog time together. i even wrote a little poem about him. with pictures.

too, i have some people in my life who are good dog owners and i see what that companionship adds to their life and for them i am happy and grateful. i cried when the kid had to shoot old yeller and i cried even harder when the yellow dog makes it over the hill and runs towards his owner in the last scene of homeward bound.

THAT BEING SAID, allow me to rant.

dear bad dog owner,

although i am glad you feel so much love for your dog that you would like to 'unleash' that love, pun intended, onto the unsuspecting world, don't. when your dog is off leash and it runs up to me to blow its nose on my leg or attempt to eat my ankles and i say to you 'your dog should be on a leash' i am not making a suggestion, i am reminding you of the law.

when your dog goes to the washroom on the trail and i remind you to pick up after it and you explain to me that 'we are outdoors', i wonder if the same logic would apply to me relieving myself on your lawn? dogs do not live outdoors. dogs live in houses and are domesticated animals and our small patches of nature within our SHARED city space have a hard enough time already, without having to accommodate for the unnatural occurrence of your dogs by-products.

with the exception of lily's dog, (that isn't even a dog, but a tiny person with a beard), your dog probably doesn't need to go into any stores. your dog won't mind waiting outside firstly because it probably doesn't have any money to spend and secondly because IT IS A DOG.

people have allergies. and fears. and feelings about their food and merchandise mingling with the hair/saliva/drippings of your dog.

my point, dear bad dog owner, is this. you live in a city of three million people. chances are, (i'm just throwin' it out there) the people you share this city with may have slightly different feelings about your pet than you do. imposing anything on people without their invitation is not only annoying, it's rude and inconsiderate.

please understand i don't hate your dog, i bet he's a very nice person. i just think i should be given the opportunity to express how i feel before he sniffs my crotch and takes a poo for me to step in.

sincerely,

me