When I was growing up we always had a dog. My friends had dogs as well. The breed didn’t matter. They were our faithful companions. The extra fielder in the backyard cricket game, the skulking enemy when playing war games, always ready for rough-housing when no one else was. They shared the punishment when things got broken, kept us warm on cold nights and guarded our houses when we were not home.They taught us about friendship, loyalty, responsibility and with their short lives, death.
A few years ago the role of the dog started to change. All of a sudden they became a fashion accessory. It all started with those famous people that have done nothing worthy of fame. They started carrying around large bags that seemed to contain a dog that looked like a cat with a personality disorder. All of a sudden girls with nothing but air between their ears had to have a little yapping dog in her handbag as a fashion statement too. It was the greatest thing since anorexia.
Eventually the media started making fun of this trend which led to the yapping handbag not being very chic any more. So what happened to all those little lap dogs ?
I bring this up because the other day I went to the pound with a friend that wanted a new dog. As we wandered among the cages it amazed me that small dogs far outnumbered their bigger bretheren. When I was a kid it used to be nearly all large dogs in the pound. Abandonded by dimwits that bought a small cute puppy, never thinking that it would grow up. There seemed to be a lot more dogs than I remembered as a child as well. All of this together made me really angry.
You need a license to drive a car. You have to jump through hoops to get a bank loan. In fact nearly everything in this world that involves some responsibility requires you to prove that you can handle it first. Anyone can buy a dog though.
I believe there should be some sort of test before you can get a dog, or any pet for that matter. If you want a dog for the wrong reason you should not be allowed to have one.
I agree about some people not being allowed to have a dog... the same applies to kids.
ReplyDeleteI have a theory about why there's now more little dogs at the pound than bigger ones, especially this time of year. I believe.. and this is, as I said just a theory... that these days, we have more people shooting off fireworks illegally in their suburban homes on, and the days leading up to New Years Eve. Most of the dogs crap themselves but it's the smaller ones that usually find big enough holes to squeeze themselves out from.
Hear, hear I agree. Our pets are treated like disposable diapers. They get used up and are easily replaceable.
ReplyDelete@sunnymars Interesting theory. Having thought about it more it could have a lot to do with the way we are living these days as well. Bigger houses on smaller blocks means no room for larger dogs any more for a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteThat could be it too. I've never been fond of little yappy dogs. Mine was a beast.
ReplyDeleteMy thought is the responsibility and financial issue.Big or small, once you have them there's a lot of responsibility that goes with having any pet, ie. licensing, vet and food bills, and very importantly time.People work multiple jobs,don't have time or room to exercise dogs and suddenly it's taken to the pound. All but one of my five animals is a rescue and they all live like human family members in our house. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt's because the little dogs don't get big and stop looking "cute". It's because people think little dogs need less room, are less dangerous, less destructive; overll, less disruptive. And the reason there are more at the pound? Because these things are not true. People are breeding more of them because they are popular, but at the same time, people are discovering that little dogs are harder to housetrain, tend to bark more, have high care coats, and landlords are less willing to allow pets, so people get rid of them like they are posessions, not pack members.
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