August 18 - Dogs

Some people think that I don’t like dogs. This isn’t true! However, I don’t like the idea of dogs running loose on a walking trail and for this reason, I often feel upset with dog owners.  When I am walking alone, it’s all very well for the owner of a dog on the loose to call out, “Don’t worry, he’s friendly,” or perhaps, “It’s all right! He won’t bite you.” These comments do nothing to alert me to the actual location of an animal that might or might not be bounding straight towards me. For all I can see, it might be a little yappy dog trying to bite my ankles, or perhaps a slobbering one who will try to lick my knees, or as happened on one occasion, a huge beast who came bounding towards me and was big enough to put his paws on my shoulders as he leapt up at me. No human call had preceded this, and I was surprised enough to nearly lose my balance. In fact, any of these moving canines on the loose could easily trip me.However, that is enough of the dogs off  leash on walking paths which are posted for dogs to be on leash. My second complaint about dog owners concerns those pet owners who neglect to pick up after their animals. It is really nasty when my cane hits a fresh mound of do-do. Are these dog owners blind in that they don’t see what their dogs are doing on the trail? I have never come across this phenomenon with guide dogs whose owners are actually blind.  So, yes, I do like dogs and most other animals, but some owners...well, perhaps not so much. My thanks to all the dog owners who consistently do the right thing.