Dogs

or what are their owners thinking?

I've often thought that dog owners assume that as they love their dogs everybody else should too. You know those people who don't control their dogs because "it's OK he's friendly". I remember an acquaintance being quite taken aback when I told her that some people really do not like dogs running up to them, as she related a tale of some teenagers trying to escape into bushes to avoid her dog. She really was surprised by their actions, after all she was standing in her driveway shouting "he's friendly".

I do not know how much dog ownership has increased, so I Googled and found differing statistics with different start years and end years but pet ownership (in the US) has been rising since the 1950s. There are more households with dogs than cats but there are more pet cats than dogs as households are more likely to have multiple cats than dogs.

So with the rise in ownership of dogs as pets has come the expectation of some owners that their dogs should accompany them anywhere and everywhere they go. The problem with this way of thinking is that it is all about the owner with no consideration for the poor dog.

A couple of weeks ago was the village fair. Streets were blocked off and filled with vendors. (As an aside the trains made their way through this without incident.) The weather was wonderful with temperatures hovering just below 90, so you can imagine that it was very busy. And in the middle of this people brought their dogs. (Did they see the posters of burnt paws from hot pavement?) The owners of big dogs kept on short leashes were not a problem, but those girls with their little dogs (why does it seem to be girls in their early 20s who need a living fashion accessory?) on long leashes. Being hugged by children on the same level was the least of the poor canines' problems as many a yelp was heard as they were trod on or run over. But surely that's not the fault of the owners.

And another aside about fairs, the day of making glasses by cutting the top off bottles is over.