I don’t understand why so many (not all!) owners of dogs and parents of children feel that there is absolutely no need for them to restrain them or teach them good manners. People take their dogs everywhere them and obviously their children too, so why not make sure they are not going to make life miserable for other people?
I’m talking about unleashed dogs that are allowed to run amuck in cafes, restaurants and shops, sniffing at fresh breads, knocking over displays, running underneath diners’ feet at tables and slobbering all over the show. The owners completely ignore unfriendly stares from managers and other patrons while happily going about their business. When someone reprimands their dog the animal is called over and consoled, sometimes whispering to the mutt that the other people are just grouchy. I’ve witnessed this kind of behavior several times.
Same goes for kids. They run around stores and malls, wheeling about on everything from shoes with wheels to skateboards, they scream and shout at restaurant tables so no one can have a conversation, they knock stuff over and the most any parent ever does is call out to the kid to calm down. A call that pretty much always goes unheard, so the child just continues on its rampage. Leaving the movies the other night some kid ruined my reverie my screaming bloody murder (it was past 10, should he not have been in bed?) while running around and then knocking over a huge movie poster that almost fell on us. What did the mother do? Call out his name in a bored voice and then continued her conversation with her friend.
Not on, people, not on at all. I have friends who have dogs and friends who have kids and most of them, I am happy to say, are in control of both. And I love their children and most of the time I enjoy their dogs too. I’ve even come to love some of these dogs very much because they are well-behaved and pretty well adjusted. Because their parents/owners understand the concept of respecting other people and raise their kids/dogs accordingly. And for that I am grateful to them, they give me hope.
Here’s Choppy (white) and Suey (black). Two dogs I did not like at all when I first met them because they are dogs, but over the year I have grown to love them so much that I even taught Suey to come sit on my lap while I massage her back. A treatment only cats enjoyed before. So see, I am not a terrible dog hater, I just need to be eased into them and they need to be well-behaved. Same goes for children.
4 comments:
I love dogs, but many owners drive me insane. I was walking my giant dog downtown Seattle one evening last year when these two tiny demon dogs about 50 feet away began to flip out barking over him. My dog remained docile. The owner was chatting on her cell and not paying attention and they caused her to fall on her ass. Hard. Phil took my pup around the corner and I went to see if she was okay. She flipped out on me and screamed about my aggressive dog.
My pup was also attacked by a dog who was off it's leash while we were on a walk one night. The owner yelling that his dog was gentle as he ripped my dog up. Now my dog hates other dogs. I hate most dog owners so we are good company.
Ha! I think I like your dog, Erin.
Hmmmm, good point. I must say, in the UK dogs are generally very well socialised and leashed and well-behavde in public (except, of course, the killer pitbulls that the hoodies attack-train to help them in gang warfare...!!). I see them on Tube carriages sometimes and they just sit or stand and sniff - no growling, no biting, no slobbering. I can only imagine the average South African dog let loose in the Tube!! Like you, though, I am a cat person, so dogs probably start at a disadvantage with me ;-)
Kids is a whole other story. I think you are right and that people are less in control of thier kids now than they ever used to be. On a flight (thank God, a short one to Europe from london!) once, a mother, her friend and their kid (probably about 6?) were seated in front of us. As soon as the seatblet lights came off, the kid unbuckled, stood on her seat and turned to face the passengers behind her - i.e. me, Nick & Some Poor Sod. She said "Hello! My name is Annoyingkid.com". Nick and I sunk further down behind our newspapers. Mr S P Sod said hello back - and that was the end of his flight. She stayed standing on the seat the entire flight facing him and when he tried to ignore her, she would grab at his book or newspaper, throw things at him or shout. The mother? She was relieved not to have to look after Devil Child for an hour and sat engrossed in deep conversation with her friend the entire flight.
No such thing as problem kids - only problem parents!!!
ek haat honde. 'n psigiater het al vir my gese daar is dus iets diep fout met my psige, maar ek gee nie regtig om nie.
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