It is not easy being the owner of a dog, and this is especially so with a Pit Bull. Earlier this month, my husband and I took the dogs for a walk along the north side of the Savannah. We walked on the outside of them, the dogs shoulder to shoulder in the middle, as Aslan is "teaching" Rescue how to walk on a lead. It is clear that Rescue's previous owners never took him for a walk - maybe they had a yard as big as the Savannah for him to exercise in - but he is a quick learner and doing well.
Anyway, we are ambling along when all of a sudden this man starts to shout at us from across the street. His problem was that the dogs were not muzzled. He is screaming that we are breaking the law, says he is going to put us in the papers, runs across the road to our side and speeds off ahead of us. We saw him stop two elderly ladies and gesticulate towards us - the ladies immediately crossed to an island in the middle of the road and kept their eyes riveted to us as we approached. Now, isn't that silly? There have been several road deaths for the year already in the papers - not one reported dog bite - but you take your life in your hands by standing in the middle of the road?
As we neared our vehicle, we could see Mr. Man taking pictures of us and, and as if that invasion of privacy was not enough, he then drove his car alongside ours, blocking us in, and proceeded to take pictures of our vehicle, including the license plate.
The law I think he is referring to is the Dangerous Dogs Act of 2000. This is the most unjust piece of legislation that I have ever seen. For one thing, it says that dogs that are categorized as dangerous can not leave their own premises - not even to go to the vet (unless the vet certifies in writing that the treatment can only be given at his/her office). The decision as to what types of dogs are dangerous is not based on any scientific, empirical evidence that I can see. For those of you who do not know, the world has three dangerous dogs - the Pit Bull, the Japanese Tosa, and the Fila Brasileiro. They are never to be bred, sold, given away or exchanged and must be muzzled when not on their own premises. I have no idea what is going to happen when some other man-killing dog is discovered - as it will be because I clearly remember the hype surrounding Dobermans and Rotts when they were in their hey-day.
So it would seem that the man was right, and we are law breakers. Well, no, not really. For one thing, Aslan, as a Shar Pei, is not categorized as a Dangerous Dog (although Rescue is because he is a Pit Bull). For another, and more importantly, although this invasive and totally illogical Act was approved by the then Government, the law was never enacted. So until such time, I am totally within my rights to exercise and socialize my animal in a manner that is safe for the public and healthy for him. You would think that Rescue had already faced enough abuse before coming to us, to now have to tolerate the willfully misinformed prejudices of ignorant people.
I wish people would check their facts before they ruin my whole day.
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