Sometimes we publish op-eds or allow content that is not aligned with my views. In part, to gauge the audience’s reaction and to see if anyone has enlightening observations to share that make me or our readers think about or rethink the issue.
I did that and, as we’ve seen in the past, when you start talking about putting government between people and anything, especially your pets, the responses can get spicy. The topic was making dog owners (more criminally) responsible for things their pets do that cause injury, etc., and the legislature should do something to ensure pet owners accept responsibility for their pets.
One reader replied with a big fat NO!
To summarize.
NO, Safety Does NOT Trump ALL.
I can see that we’ve been successfully and completely trained to go running to the freakin’ government to solve every damn problem under the sun.
NO this is not what free people do to solve problems.
What this is though is how government worshippers grow government by continually asking for more government !!
THIS list of bills to ‘solve’ your own dog problems grows government.
THIS increases our taxes.
THIS increases state control over your life.
THIS steals our freedom because we’re forced to pay these taxes.
THIS then taxes people out of their homes.
THIS then forces the native population to leave the state.
THIS then dilutes our own population with new people creating even more problems for us to deal with.
THIS then makes us all tax slaves for the donkey party.
THIS then makes it so that families cannot afford to home school their kids !!
THIS then makes it so that families cannot afford to pull their kids out of the failing schools.
THIS then makes it so that you are forced to work multiple jobs and have zero time to run your own town.
THIS then makes it so that you have no time at all to do all the other things that build your successful family unit.
To demand all these new laws is completely working against our own best interests because laws rob freedom, cost money and wind up further enslaving and controlling us.
In case you didn’t figure it out, they are a no, but if you read the comments, there are a few regulars who are on board with the idea of some added layer of consequence care of the State.
I’m sick and f’n tired of people who let their dogs run off leash on trails and in my neighborhood. I have always walked my dogs on leash and they’re never outside of our fenced yard.
So many times here comes a dog running straight up while the owner shouts “Oh it’s ok, he’s friendly”….well my dogs do not like other dogs particularly ones running at us.
I’m a dog person and I agree with this. Only time my dogs are off leash is in my fenced in yard.
And,
What rot. Sounds like the author is a cat person.
The sheer expense of creating a dog enforcement agency, or whatever nomenclature you care to give it, should be obviously prohibiting. Punish all dog owners for the deeds of very few? Rubbish.
Nice picture without context. Maybe somone was approaching with intent to harm?
Author sounds like a “ban all the bad breeds” type, where they define “bad”.Some of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met were pitties, staffies, GSD, Malinois, Cane Corso while the nastiest have been the Poms, Yorkies and other little dogs.
Bad breeding coupled with bad owners leads to bad dogs.
…
The pic was the only one I had that fit the theme and was included without context, because the content was presumed to add context. But I agree 1000% about dos versus owners. My dog, Cosmo, used to play with breeds at the dog park that had a bad reputation, and they were the sweetest things. Pitties, Shepherds, all sorts. Great dogs, good with everyone, including kids and other dogs.
Meanwhile, some of the smaller, less “bad-mouthed” breeds were a lot more trouble. And to their owners’ credit, if they failed to socialize, they stopped coming to the dog park. When a regular developed an issue, and we had a few that suddenly started attacking puppies for reasons that were unclear; they took their leave or moved to a different fenced-off area.
It’s usually nurture, not nature, but they are still dogs, so you can never stop paying attention and being responsible.
My position on this is similar to zoning. It’s a local issue. Let towns and cities decide because experience has shown that even if the state does “something,” it will do too much or too little. We don’t want the former; if it is going to be the latter, let the towns and their residents handle the rules and enforcement, and call it a Day.
Just make sure people know those rules. Post them at dog parks and make them easy to find online or at the town hall when requested.
