Sir, You Have Never Owned A Dog, Am I Right?

 

I found this article in the previous Sunday Star edition in newspaper so I took the online article and posted it here. I suppose some of you have come across it. Well, there is a lot to criticize in this article because an experienced dog owner like myself find what Mr. Gomez wrote here a bit offensive. This is clearly a biased view on dog owners and their etiquette in raising their dogs. While Mr.Gomez does have a point in saying that there are irresponsible owners who let loose their dogs and let them poop in other people's residence, I'd like to stress that not all of us are like this. Responsible owners like myself pick up after our pets, make sure they are in leash and make sure tour pets do their business on the grass far away from civilization. 

I'd like to clarify a few things.

First, you brought up a point of dog owners purchasing license yet the dogs are still misbehaving. How is purchasing a license ensures their good behaviour? I fail to see the correlation. We purchase a license for our dogs so that the people from Majlis Bandaraya does not mistake a house pet for a stray! The last thing we want is for our pet be shot down and burned in a dumpster! The Bandaraya people also fail to notice that despite the absence of the lisence in a dog's collar, if the dog is in a house(behind the gate) then obviously it's a house pet! What right have they to shoot a pet that was inside a house??? So here it is, we buy lisence so to ensure the safety of our pet, not to curb their animal behavious. Lisence have nothing to do with that!

Second, you claim that it is a nuisance for dogs to be brought out of the house for a walk. The pooping everywhere aside, did you know that if you keep a dog indoors for a long time they become frustrated hence the agression we see in so many dogs? How would you feel if you haven't left the house for 7 days? Wont you go mad with boredom? It is the same thing. Dogs needs to go out and have a breather outside their house too. Just like how you go out to the mall in the weekend after a long hard work on the weekdays. It's the same thing, animals need chillin' out too. So you can't blame the dog owners for taking out their dogs out for a walk. It keeps the dog calm and in good spirits. Another thing, owners like myself allow our dogs to go in and out of the house and they sometimes poop in the house. We dont mind cleaning that up but letting them poop outside is a much better alternative. We love our dogs, we want them to be happy too. So for you to say we bring out our dogs so they can poop at other people's house just shows ignorance on your part, Mr.Gomez. We dog owners better things to do.

Third, you mentioned how you are intimated when a dog sniffs at you. Well, as basic knowledge as this can be, when we humans use our 5 senses to make up of something, dogs only have their nose to make sense of their surroundings. So if they sniff you, it means they want to know what you are. They dont mean harm. Honestly. Guard dogs are proptective by nature so their first instinct is to protect their family. They are naturally wary of their surroundings and will not hesitate to attack if they find themselves or their family in danger. It's their basic instinct, YOU have to be careful not to provoke them!

Fourth, their bowel movement issue. If a pet dog keep giving you 'presents' in front of your house, why dont you just tell the owner to quit it? Why are you taking out on the rest of dog owners like myself? Again, this is ignorance on your part. Not the dogs fault, but the owners' for not keeping an eye and being responsible for the dog's bowel movements and the pick up after.

Fifth, the government does not need to do anything at all. Its just a matter of the dog owner's consensus in training their dogs. I think this is a given but if one doesn't know how to look after a dog, then spare the dog and don't keep one. You're being unfair to the poor animal by not knowing how to look after it. Looking after a dog is not an easy job, one must have a real dedication to raise a dog. If you're thinking of keeping a dog, do it because you are willing to love the animal, willing to let the dog be a part of your family and raise the dog as you would raise a child.