I wish I could christen this site with something more profound, more earth-shattering in its revelations, but oh well... this subject is well within the theme of my URL, so here goes....
I often take my dog to the dog park; while it is all good and well to assume there is something noble and altruistic about being a pet owner and sacrificing one's own free time to take one's dog to said dog park, I must ask you to recall that trite little adage about what happens when one "assumes" because, contrary to what one might think, even assholes take their dogs to the dog park.
Yesterday, I took Owen to the dog park, and saw a few of the regulars - mostly people whose company I enjoy. In speaking with Emma's mom (you don't learn people's names at the dog park, so much as you learn a dog's name and identify which person goes with said dog), I heard a story that appalled (but sadly did not shock) me, and served - if no other purpose - to reinforce my reasons for selecting my blogspot address.
Within the context of this story, it is important to note that in the dog park, there are rules. Two of the most important rules are that no unaltered dogs are allowed in any of the parks and owners are not allowed to bring food of any kind (meaning for themselves or their pets) so as to minimize potential acts of aggression. Makes sense, right? Yeah, you'd think...
A woman and her teenage (early 20s?) son came into the dog park before I arrived and brought with them food from Der Weinerschnitzel. Emma's mom politely informed them that no food was allowed. The woman looked at her and said "Who are you? The fuckin' dog park police?" Emma's mom then went on to say that no, she was not an employee of the dog park, but she just wanted them to be aware of the rules. "But other people have Starbucks" the woman's son responded. Emma's mom (who miraculously still had patience) explained that dogs will not become aggressive at the scent of a latte, nor will they fight over it - the same couldn't be said of a hot dog. "Don't listen to her" the enlightened mother told her son and promptly turned her back on Emma's mom and walked away. She and her son sat down and did at least take the time to hide their food in her purse so as not to blatantly flaunt their rule-breaking behavior.
Naturally, they attracted a lot of attention from the other dogs who no doubt picked up on the whiff of beef and beef by-products. At some point their dog became aggressive with one of the dogs that approached; instead of pulling their dog back (as most common-sense folk would do), the son said "that's right - get 'im" at which point the owner of the other dog came and removed it to (relative) safety. The kid just laughed; it's funny when dogs fight, apparently.
Now, I completely understand the concept of surly teenagers testing boundaries, thumbing their noses at authority and their "you're not the boss of me" attitudes, but it horrifies, disgusts and angers me to see that sort of blatant disrespect supported and encouraged by their parents! The message this mother is communicating to her son seems to be "you don't have to follow rules if you don't like them and if you're called on it, don't back down."
Way to go "mom." GREAT EXAMPLE. Thanks for your work in molding a model citizen; I'll be tipping my hat to you on Mothers Day (oh... wait... maybe not).
Congratulations. You are in the running to be the poster child for the Norplant Gun.
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