Zen... and irresponsible dog owners.

[+Pharisee]

I’ll just set the stage…..

 

Pharisee, (who is not in the least scared, wary or otherwise intimidated by dogs) is on a cache maintenance trip, walking along a rural public footpath close to Eversholt in Bedfordshire, Lekki pole in right hand ‘cos he’s got a crook knee. Over the rise, some 150 yards ahead, appears a woman and two dogs; a small terrier she has on a lead and a larger (retriever size) mongrel running free. The mongrel sees Pharisee and legs it down the hill towards him.

 

OK so far… He (Pharisee) sees it coming, thinks "Oh (deleted by moderator)... here we go again" and keeps walking. The mongrel circles him, barking and growling. He keeps walking steadily uphill ignoring the dog. The woman, now 100 yards or so away, has made no attempt what-so-ever to call the dog back. The dog lunges in and nips Pharisee’s free left hand; not a bite so much as it didn’t ‘hang on’ and it didn’t draw blood, but it was certainly felt.

 

Pharisee (loosing some of his cool) drops his Lekki pole and grabs the dog. After a short tussle, he has his hand firmly under the top of the dogs collar and is holding it (choking) at arms length.

 

Now the fun really starts…. Woman starts running down the hill. Conversation goes as follows.

 

[Woman… still 50 yards away] “Hey…. You leg go of my dog…”

 

[Pharisee waits for woman to arrive ] “Not until you’ve got it on a lead. This dog has just bitten me. Do you understand the implications of that?”

 

[Woman] “ He was just playing. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

 

[Pharisee, still holding dog’s collar. Dog seems to be having breathing difficulties] “He hurt me and I don’t want to play with your dog. I just want to walk peacefully up this path without being bitten by your mutt.”

 

[Woman] “He’s just being playful. He wants to say ‘hello’ and be your friend. Now you let go of him.”

 

[Pharisee… rapidly loosing the rest of his cool, really wants to let go of the dog and grab the woman by the throat . Dog now limp with bulging eyes.] “Lady… has it ever occurred to you that there are people out here who don’t want to be friends and play with your dog? If I’d have had a child with me and your dog had bitten it, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’d be on the phone to the police, arranging for this animal to be destroyed.”

 

[Woman… attaching lead to sleeping dogs collar] “You’re not a nice man!”

 

[Pharisee, finally letting go of the dogs collar. Dog seems to be breathing again] “You’re right… and you’re a bl**dy irresponsible dog owner.”

 

Pharisee, now totally without cool and steam coming out of ears, continues on his way up the footpath. Woman shouts after him… “I’m going to tell my husband about you!”

 

Pharisee ignores her. It took two pints in the Red Lion in Milton Bryan before he’d calmed down.

 

 

[RANT OVER]

Edited September 7, 2010 by mtn-man

[+paulbarratt]

Don't get me started on irresponsible dog owners. Smurf and I live on a caravan park on the moors that is accessed by a bridle path across said moors.

 

I've lost count of the number of times I've nearly run dogs over because these 'people' have let them off the lead to run riot.

 

It's especially annoying because there are sheep on the moors as well.

Edited September 7, 2010 by paulbarratt

[+agentmancuso]

It took two pints in the Red Lion in Milton Bryan before he'd calmed down.

 

If I'd had the pleasure of seeing you strangle the dug, I'd have bought you that pint myself.

[team tisri]

I remember a dog that kept jumping up at me in Richmond Park, which I grabbed by its collar and dragged across the park back to its owners. They didn't seem too impressed at seeing their dog struggling to keep up with me with only its back legs able to touch the ground.

 

It's a shame, it's always the irresponsible dog owners that stick in the mind and they do give all dog owners a bad name.

[+Cache U Nutter]

I have loads of sympathy with Pharasee. It was obviously a very unpleasant experience and the lady was out of order with her comments and actions.

There is however a 'However'

I am a dog owner and of course I let my springer off the lead at all times [when no livestock about]

Those who keep their dogs on a lead either a] have not trained their dog yet or b] are being cruel.

Dogs need exercise and being kept on a lead will cause frustration . Frustrated / angry dogs will bite !

In your case I believe that the dog was insufficientely trained or the lady was not concentrating on dog control.

She should simply give a command and the dog should lay off.

My 'However' could be that the dog was 'spooked' by your rather impresive hat ?!

My dog get spooked by large hats, guys with beards or other unfamiliar people. I regret also that my dog is racist. He does'nt however then go and bite someone.

I think you were very brave getting hold of the dog by the collar. Was it a chiwawa ?

In the same way that we all acknowledge that horses may bolt if we drive too close [we slow down] may I suggest you take your hat off, or have a quick shave !!!

Hope you are now o.k mate and you should report the lady to the police if you ever get the chance-- they give most dog owners a bad name.

Edited September 7, 2010 by Cache U Nutter

[+Pharisee]

My 'However' could be that the dog was 'spooked' by your rather impresive hat ?!

I wasn't wearing a hat.

.....guys with beards ......

I have no intention of shaving off my beard to pacify some out-of-control mutt

I think you were very brave getting hold of the dog by the collar. Was it a chiwawa ?

As I posted... it was a mongrel, or some breed I didn't recognise, about the size of a retriever but not as heavily built.

[+4 and The Dog]

Regardless you should report the woman to the police. Her dog could be an absolute nuisence and does what he did to you regularly to others. I can tell you from experience the police do build up a profile of complaints and will eventually have a word. We had a woman who walked her dog in our local park every day - there wasnt a time you could pick that she wouldnt be there with her mutt. As you can see from the photos of our dog we muzzle him in public as he was a stray and we rehomed him, and he sees every dog as a threat and will attack them. This womans mutt was never on a leash and never under control. All the dog owners we know complained to the park police and the real police about her and her dog. Her dog provoked fights every 20 minutes in that park. When it eventually bit someone he was destroyed and she was banned from owning another dog based on the complaints. The RSPCA got involved somewhere along the line. Although the dog was a nightmare, it was the owner and the way she handled him that was at the root of the problems, for which the dog ultimately paid with it's life.

There's never been a time in the last 5 decades I didnt have a dog. Our last dog who we had for 19 years was there at the birth of our children as they were born at home. Our current dog was about to be destroyed due to his aggression, but the kids fell in love with him so we gave him a home. That was 6 years ago. He's walked for miles every day, has a happy and fulfilling life, gets off the lead when we know for an absolute fact there isnt another living creature within a mile radious. We have no time for irresponsible owners in this house. When we have met people who couldnt control their dog, in that their dog wouldnt come back to them on command, and our dog was straining at the leash to get to it, Ive shouted over Im about to take the muzzle off and he's going to kill your dog in the next 5 seconds. That usually gets them to move their fat irresponsible backsides

Edited September 7, 2010 by 4 and The Dog

[I!]

Strangling the dog was, IMO, excessive.

[+Lovejoy and Tinker]

Don't get me started on irresponsible dog owners. Smurf and I live on a caravan park on the moors that is accessed by a bridle path across said moors.

 

I've lost count of the number of times I've nearly run dogs over because these 'people' have let them off the lead to run riot.

 

It's especially annoying because there are sheep on the moors as well.

Slightly off topic (and with all due sympathy to the OP who encountered an irresponsible dog owner) but...

 

How do you access a caravan park via a moorland bridle path in a motor vehicle? Or are you talking about running over dogs on a push bike?

 

When we walk down bridle paths (where there is no livestock, obviously) our dogs are always off their lead. Not 'running riot' but having a good leg stretch some tens of yards from us and ready to be called back at any time.

 

But I always thought we'd be safe from motor vehicles on bridle paths (though not on byways).

Have I been making an incorrect assumption or have I misread your post completely?

[+mtn-man]

Probably best for off topic since this isn't about geocaching. I have my opinions here too as a dog owner, really on both sides of the fence (sort of a pun there). I try to be a responsible owner myself. I do carry a big stick though.

 

If you want to repost in Off Topic feel free. This has been discussed before, and I am glad you got the rant off of your chest. This topic will garner some strong feelings, as it has in the past, but none of them will be related to geocaching really.