Finally, a plea!

My Isabella-girl, here delighted with her new friend, Nail, a Turkish guy we had just met for the first time on the patio of Downtown Subscription, a coffee shop that offers the very best coffee in town. This happened January 27th 2007 when dogs were still illegal, not just in, but around establishments that serve food. But this is about to change this summer when the bill our Governor finally signed yesterday will come in to effect July 1. 2011.

What a relief to be able to bring our furry friends along on walks and errands and be able to stop at a pet friendly establishment for necessities like food and treats for the pets, coffee for me, and socializing for all. Isabella found a life long friend in Nail who loves dogs and brought his dog from the streets of Turkey to the US. Nail has volunteered at our local pet sanctuary and is involved in animal activism internationally on the net. Spotting Nail from a distance, Isabella will strain towards him excitedly. Socializing is good for us all. I love to see my furry friends interact with the world around them. Isabella-girl is big time in to guys, will stop in the middle of the street to gaze at a guy approaching, while my little Sumo-boy likes boys  especially and will swagger up to a group of them to compete for their ball, very cute. Of course he had practice having grown up in a household with a boy he obviously loved and had played with often. Sumo will also not be above climbing in to a stroller with a toddler in order to find a soft spot of his own.

Out in public we all have to keep our wits, act responsibly and employ some common sense. Please do not bring your dogs to a patio before they have attended to their business. Nobody wants to smell pee from any furry friend's attention to the flowers and bushes nearby. Please keep your pets close so that we can pass them without worry. When you approach a patio with your friendly dog, do not assume that this gives license to approach a tethered dog or two with no care. Always give respect and proper attention to any animal nearby, never assume. Toddlers have no business approaching a dog with arms outstretched squeeling, this is an invitation for trouble. With the consent of the custodian demonstrate to your kid how to make contact with a dog properly, by allowing the dog to get curious and approach and sniff first. Toddlers will follow examples offered to them. One Japanese father believed his kid to be too young to learn, I say we can not start early enough to demonstrate appropriate behavior.

Only last week, 2 dogs were tethered, illegally, outside the farmers market when a couple with a very cute little white toy poodle on a retractable leash attempted to pass those tethered dogs seemingly in total unawareness of the potential for calamity, way too close, certainly for my comfort and the tethered dogs comfort as well. All hell broke lose, barking got more aggressive and I had to intervene and tell those dogs to calm down because the couple was taken by surprise and did nothing. The tethered dogs, also surprised, listened and all was well and could have been avoided if the passing party would have given only a little bit more space and attention.

I believe we are responsible, not just for those in our charge, but for the world we live in. I believe we practice not enough response-ability. A few years back I heard loud aggressive barking. As I investigated I found my neighbor, a mature woman with two serious, powerful dogs of her own, on her knees in the street, barked at aggressively by a little dog new to our 'hood. I told the dog off, told him to go home, did not think twice, and he did. Thank you  Dog Whisperer, this episode made all those shows I had watched on TV worth its time in gold. Mind you, I am not a natural when it comes to dogs, pets of any kind. I got my first dog, my Isabella-girl only in October of 2006. At the dog park at first I was afraid of other dogs and rather content with Isabella-girl charging ahead. Soon though I realized that dogs at the park were interested in other dogs a lot more then in me and that most, if not all, were well socialized.

We need to practice common sense out in public with our pets. As a pet owner, or rather custodian, I do not like to see dogs up on chairs licking things off public tables. Customers should not have to dodge around dogs, not knowing if they are friendly or if they might jump, goddess forbid, cause anyone to spill their hot coffee or worse. Don't feed a dog either. Food fights are no fun, neither is diarrhea caused by uncommon food given without consent to a dog with a sensitive digestive system. Barking is not o.k.. While dogs will announce the comings and goings of other dogs, let yours know that enough is enough, especially when out in public. Pets can add so much to our lives with a little bit of consideration and a lot of on-going training. Of course, this is a far cry from leaving dogs in the yard day in and out, maybe nights too, and sadly with some still tethered on chains. We have come a long way as a society and we still have a long way to go, considering all the cruelty, inhumanity and blatant animal abuse still in full force.

My Isabella-girl, my first dog, in 2007 supposedly fully grown at about 24 lbs. She wears a pack that holds her treats, bags, and my phone and camera, mainly to slow down her interminable energy and excitement.