My first instinct was to stay calm and not to run but this tactic didn't seem to work. When the dogs had already crossed half the distance to get to us, and they were getting awfully close, me and my sister turned and ran. Dogs chased us quite far from their owners house. I got away clean but one of the dogs bit my sister's leg and ripper a hole in her JEANS. 
Fortunately the wound wasn't very deep and my sister did not get rabies!The owners must have simply left their gate open because there was no owner nearby who could have been walking the dogs at that moment. Dogs wore collars but no leashes. We later heard that those dogs are often running around free. So basically the owner leaves the gate open for the dogs to crap in random places and charge young girls who are taking a walk.
How is that right? If I didn't hate paperwork so much, I would have gone to the police to file an official complaint. Such dogs should be put to sleep. Or perhaps it's the owners who made the mistake? 
I started thinking about it when I read an article about Estonians being too prejudice about dogs, calling all dogs dangerous even if there's no clear reasoning for such an opinion about a particular dog. Well, ALL DOGS ARE DANGEROUS! Dogs have the instincts of a killer, whether or not they've killed someone already. They're carnivores and they have evolved to attack. Horribly, they are more likely to attack those who they are not too terrified of and those who make them angry - for example, little children who want to pull on that furry tail or those cute killer ears.
Especially with children's throats and faces so conveniently close to those sharp and pointy teeth. Happy little dog owners might think that sort of thinking is indeed prejudice, but when you think about it, even dog owners themselves say revealing things about their pets, such as, "My dog is so good with children. He hasn't tried to bite them even once!". In my opinion it's about as good as someone describing an employee, "She's such a good employee. She hasn't stolen from me even once!". Such a comment would make sense only in a world where employees are assumed to steal and dogs are assumed to try to bite children. Perhaps calling all dogs potential killers is just as good as calling all people potential killers. That second one is, of course, also a true statement. It's not at all unusual to read about a disgruntled employee killing a few people and then themselves. One moment it's a normally functioning average person and the next moment body bags are being zipped closed. The scary part about most murder news is that most of the murderers were perfectly normal people until they suddenly killed someone. Some "normal" people look more like potential killers than others: a twitchy looking man with prison tattoos is worse than a friendly Sunday school teacher, even if neither of them has killed anyone. I would rank a vast majority of dogs in the more dangerous group. Just as the twitchy prison guy, dogs can suddenly flip and attack for no apparent reason.
When I think about it this way, I'm not completely sure why anyone would get a dog. There is perhaps one good reason: a dog is a legal weapon. As far as I know, it is completely illegal in Estonia to attack someone simply because they are on your property. Even attacking in self defence is an iffy topic and I wouldn't try it unless it's absolutely unavoidable. However, it's perfectly legal to keep a dog that requires a sign, "beware! Dog will bite!". Perhaps people wouldn't need dogs if they could just put up a sign, "Beware! I'll shoot you in the leg!"
. For some reason the first is a common sign, the second one is not so typical, even though the damage could be similarly bad. Unless it's war time, there is very little excuse for anyone to own a gun "just in case" but too many people keep a dog in their back yard to ward off strangers. How can I bash dogs so much and not even mention cats... Well, cats are just as dangerous, perhaps even more so, but cats are much cuter!
There are dogs and there are dogs. Some dogs are bred to defend territory, property or person. Some dogs are bred for hunting. Some dogs are bred for aiding humans.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Pit Bull, Rotweiler, Husky, Doberman Pinscher and Fila Brasilero for example, are dangerous weapons in the hands of inadequate owner and owning these kind of dogs could be regulated as having a weapon.
But we should not forget that there are other kind of dogs as well. I couldn't think about banning a blind person to have a Labrador for a guide dog because it is a weapon. And a weapon in the hands of blind person.
Or I don't dare to say that we should not have the Saint Bernards to look for the people under the avalanches and try to save them.
Also shepherds dogs that are bred to help people doing the work, that would otherwise really challenging and difficult for humans.
With a dog everything starts from his master. I think it's possible to raise the Labrador to be a complete lunatic compared to regular Rotweiler. But it shouldn't be like that.
We, humans, are not as far from animals as we like to think. I have seen a kid bashing other kid ferociously. It is an attack from one omnivore towards other omnivore. Again, it is the question of raising - a child or a pet. Just if the process goes wrong, the result is different from what is normally expected and you may end up having a uncontrollable deadly weapon.
I myself am not a spectacular animal friendly person. I have been bitten number of times by dogs and cats. And even by human beings. But I have also seen the families with dogs as rightful family members, seen how much fun kids can have with them, how the dog can do some little things to cheer you up on a really bad day and to care about you if no one else is around for it.
I completely agree that dangerous dogs should be put to sleep and dogs should be taken away from inadequate owners, but as usual there is always other side of the coin and world is not black/white.
I don't know much about dog breeds but your comment makes a lot of sense. I do like cats more than dogs but I have enormous respect for rescue dogs and such. I mean, I have far more respect to kind-hearted rescue dogs than truly cool new generation sniper rifles (And that says a lot!). In all honesty, it would still take a long time for me to really trust a large dog to play with Siiri even if it's bred to be very calm and protecting.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wouldn't ban all dogs for all people. I simply feel that people often underestimate dogs and their temper and dogs in general are most dangerous to children. And my comment about putting those two dogs to sleep: well, dogs who attack strangers outside their territory for no particular reason do need to be dealt with in my humble opinion. ;)
This post really made me emotional and angry - being very passionate about dogs as I am. But that's ok - I like emotional blog posts :P
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my two cents:
1. Any dog's personality is about 30% breeding and 70% upbringing and training. When a dog is behaving badly, it is *always* the owner's fault, just as it would be with a gun. And in most cases it takes a lot more trouble (or ignorance) to make a dog mean than friendly. They are pack animals and need positive interaction. Unfortunately people mostly randomly interact with the untrained and lonely dogs.
2. (This is an explanation not an excuse) Dog owners are a lot like parents of small children. Sometimes a kid is in a public place (concert, restaurant etc.) screaming or throwing things around or doing something very inappropriate and the parent simply watches the child in admiration or amusement. Dog owner sees the dog they own and know and love, not the objective potential killing machine. When a big rotweiler comes sniffing your child in the street, you see a monster ready to bite your childs head off, the dog owner sees two extremely cute creatures making new friends.
I've had two dogs, the latter was a german shepperd I went to dog school with until she was trained for police duty (she couldn't pass the test tho, because she was afraid of loud noises and gun shots are used during police dog evaluation). I've helped to train a lot of dogs, went to dog shows, read about them and played with them. If we treat them right, they are the most loyal, friendly and giving creatures.
Phew, got it out of my system :P
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ReplyDeleteFirst of all, sorry. I'm way too opinionated. I didn't want to cause any bad emotions.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, just yesterday I was in the staircase of apartment building where I live. I was holding Siiri in my arms and we wanted to go out when this large dog blocked our way. It was barking and warning us not to take another step forward. The owner was a young man (more like a boy) who was telling his dog, "don't bark. come here. stop barking." but he did it in a very typical wimpy male Estonian tone (Erkki doesn't sound like that!). The dog wouldn't even budge and it made me cringe that this guy takes a large dog out for a walk without protective gear and obviously can't control him in any way. I made a snarky comment to the owner, "It seems your dog has misplaced it's muzzle. And his leash." He seemed a bit ashamed. I'm not afraid of dogs so I kept walking past it. The dog didn't bite and eventually the owner dragged it away.
I'll still try to keep an open mind about dogs.