Fear of unleashed dogs?
Today I took the Man-cub to a park we'd never been to before. We played for a while, but just when I thought we'd both faint from the heat, I heard thunder rumbling in the distance. That sealed the deal -- we were leaving.
As Ioffered my son a million dollars to walk in my direction picked up my boy, I saw several harried parents freaking out, grabbing their children and running in our direction. (Now, if they had been running away from us, I would just figure Who could blame them?)
Turned out a pair of Rottweilers had come into the park by themselves, and everyone was afraid. Half of the people ran into the restrooms, and the other half went to the back of the park, which was fenced off (except for the non-gated entrance to that area -- duh! -- yeah, that's going to deter 200-some total pounds of slobbering muscle.)
And then I started to worry. Not because of the dogs, but because I wasn't freaked out over a couple dogs wandering around the park.
That's right -- I was worried because I wasn't worried.
With my boy squirming in my arms because he didn't want to leave, I got to my car just as I heard a lightning alarm. So I felt justified in leaving the park. I saw the dogs walking side by side along the fence, tongues wagging.
I don't know if I should have been afraid of the dogs, but I wasn't. They weren't acting menacing. They hadn't come near anyone. They weren't barking or growling. I just figured the dogs had gotten out of their backyards and gone for a stroll. Maybe they wanted to go down the slides or sit at the shaded picnic tables.
Makes me wonder if it's a good thing or a bad thing that it's rare to see a dog not on a leash in South Florida.
As I
Turned out a pair of Rottweilers had come into the park by themselves, and everyone was afraid. Half of the people ran into the restrooms, and the other half went to the back of the park, which was fenced off (except for the non-gated entrance to that area -- duh! -- yeah, that's going to deter 200-some total pounds of slobbering muscle.)
And then I started to worry. Not because of the dogs, but because I wasn't freaked out over a couple dogs wandering around the park.
That's right -- I was worried because I wasn't worried.
With my boy squirming in my arms because he didn't want to leave, I got to my car just as I heard a lightning alarm. So I felt justified in leaving the park. I saw the dogs walking side by side along the fence, tongues wagging.
I don't know if I should have been afraid of the dogs, but I wasn't. They weren't acting menacing. They hadn't come near anyone. They weren't barking or growling. I just figured the dogs had gotten out of their backyards and gone for a stroll. Maybe they wanted to go down the slides or sit at the shaded picnic tables.
Makes me wonder if it's a good thing or a bad thing that it's rare to see a dog not on a leash in South Florida.
posted by Holly at Tropic of Mom at 3:16 PM
For Local Blog
6 Comments:
I don't fear dogs. I guess its because I grew up around them. As long as it is running towards us with its teeth showing, I'll keep doing what I was doing.
We don't run away from stray dogs, thankfully I have never been around a menacing one either. I do tell the boys not to touch, but other than that we are fine. I wonder if the reaction was because of the breed?
There's no real reason to fear dogs. Just be aware and alert. And keep a can of pepper spray available, just in case.
I'm usually the one fearing for the dogs and hoping they get home or trying to find out who they belong to, I guess that comes from 20yrs as a vet tech.
The fear may have been more that they were Rottweillers than because they were lose. People seem to have a "type" they believe is out to eat them.
We have 2 dogs. Both are about the same size...35-40lbs. One is terribly skinny with scruffy, benji-like hair. She is overly friendly. The other is a very solid almost black terrier who's kept shaved short. She's far more reserved. Neither is aggressive.
We've had escapes of the benji-like one. No one minds. They go right up to her and play with her.
The other has never escaped, because she is ruled by The Way Things Go and so if something is open, she either waits to be leashed and taken thru, or closes it. But people in the neighborhood are afraid of her and that she'll attack them. Because she looks strong, and dark, and so on.
I wouldn't have been afraid but I might have picked Boog up because he is overly friendly with dogs seeing as we have two. They aren't all big cuddly fur balls like ours and he's not quite old enough to understand that yet. That's true for any dog though, rottie or poddle.
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