WHY DO YOU OWN A DOG?

Why do you own a dog?

Okay, why does someone own a LARGE dog that tends toward aggression and then leave the front door to the house unlocked so that the dog can push its way outside and harm itself and anyone passing by?

Welcome to South Philadelphia, home of cheesesteaks, an over-population of large, aggressive dogs, and people completely lacking in common sense.

I was walking my 30-pound corgi/sheltie mix. She stopped to bark at the Yorkie in the window (one of her “boyfriends”). We made it 2 houses more when a large dog (part Rottweiler, a breed I happen to love) barked, growled, and got half-way out the door. I yelled for its owner to come, and she promptly accused my dog of deliberately egging her dog on. This illustrates item #3 above (lack of common sense), and I’m being polite here. Let’s just revise that to say a combination of ignorance and stupidity all rolled into one with a side of fries! Did I leave out the part about the woman telling me that I walk my dog past her house everyday deliberately and make her dog bark?

Common sense and common decency demand that you lock your door, if only to keep your dog from running out into a busy street. Then we can add to the equation, to keep your dog from running out and attacking another dog, or to keep your dog from being stolen.

Gwyn is not perfect – she’s made up of two herding breeds. She’s an alpha dog, who responds to the sense of aggression by barking. Vicious? Yeah, right, a dog who rides about 6 inches from the ground on a good day?

Folks, please look after your pets. It’s your responsibility to protect them, to know where they are at all times, to keep them from harm, and to keep them from causing harm. Sadly, the very people who should read this probably will not, but at least it was said.