There’s a big regional dog show in Colorado in mid-February. I’ve volunteered for the agility venue in recent years, but I took this year off to watch instead. I met a friend out front Saturday morning. She was running late, so I had plenty of time to watch people and dogs. This is what I saw.
A woman labored down the road about a block from me. She appeared burdened by all her dog-show gear. When her large dog (curly coated something) stopped to poop, she fished out a bag and waited. I started watching something else, then heard the yelp. I’m not sure what happened while she was scooping, but when I looked back, the dog was in the street at the end of its leash. She’d dropped most of her gear and was dragging the dog from the road. There were cars right there. But, the dog did not want to comply, so she pulled straight up and dangled it in the air, by its neck, and got back on the sidewalk. The dog was fussing, to say the least. It looked more like a large-mouth bass on the end of a fishing line than a dog.
Now, this is not your typical dog-people-only show. Lots of regular folks come to watch the conformation, obedience, rally and agility competitions. So, the area was packed with your average passers-by.
I was sad at what I saw, but it made me wonder. Isn’t treating a dog like that, at a show like that, akin to choking your child in public at a parenting expo?
Later, my attention fell to a very stylish, tall woman coming up the sidewalk with two toy dogs in tow. On their slender little leashes, they bee-bopped along at her side. They had to run to keep up, but they were holding their own. That is … until one fell off the curb, bumping and skidding along the road until he could get his feet under him again. The woman never noticed. Thankfully, he recovered in a few steps.
Now, it’s easy to think — Eh, a curb, so what? — but it’s all relative. A curb to a toy dog is like Lilly falling off a park bench or low dog walk. It’s like a giant breed dog falling out of a big SUV.
So, first of all, it’s a significant fall. Second, he probably would have been fine at a slower pace. Third, the woman didn’t notice … at all.
I came very close to yelling at both women.
Maybe it’s just me, but I think of myself as the lead-by-example type. I try hard not to preach at people about dog-related things, but I do hope people notice how I treat Lilly, how careful I am with her in public, how I focus on her because she’s focusing on me (as she’s been trained to do).
I can only hope that others didn’t see what I saw. After all, I do watch and listen to people for a living, so maybe I’m the only one who noticed. Then, again, if I was the only one, maybe I should have yelled.
I hope they would. My fear is that some people would see that and think it’s an OK way to treat a dog … “See, honey, I told you choke collars were fine.”
I haven’t seen so many metal choke chains in one place in years.
“…I can only hope that others didn’t see what I saw…”
I dunno, maybe it’s better that they do see what you saw and react to it the same way.