Dog-gone

We have great rail trails here in Dayton. You can go anywhere. I use them to get to a cycling-friendly stretch of road where I can train. In this way I can better avoid being smushed by a motorized vehicle.

I have mixed feelings for the trails. During the crappy weather and the winter you have them all to yourself and it's very peaceful, but uncomfortable. On a beautiful day like today you have to share with all the people running, roller blading and walking animals. No worries. It's nice to see people enjoying the outdoors while it still exists. But, it's more work because you have to pass carefully and announce yourself.

Are you still reading? Good. Because I need to vent and you're almost to where I'm gonna try to make my point.

I am very "pro-pet". As a matter of fact, one of my favorite people was a cat. So, if for the next two hundred words or so I sound like a little bitch, it's because I like cats and dogs.

I have witnessed some isolated episodes of major pet owner ineptitude on the rail trails. These idiots represent a small minority of the pet owning population. But, It makes me wonder if to screen them out people should be required to pass some sort of written exam in order to own a pet. Maybe dog or cat owners should be required to have a license much like a license to drive? You have to jump through way more hoops to own a car and that's not even a living thing.

Weeks ago, I saw a guy who had a cat in a harness and was attempting to walk it. Guess how well that worked? If you understand cats you know how well it worked. That was just amusing. No harm or foul.

But what gets my dander up are the 1% of people on the rail trail with rogue dogs. In the past ten days or so, I have almost run over two dogs who were running free.

I know what you're thinking...

Dogs need to be allowed to run free. It's not in their nature to be tied down.

So, I would guess some dog owners are opposed to leashes. That's cool. Take them to the foopin' park where they won't get hurt.

Or, train them. I see a lot of people who are walking with dogs who are free. When I announce myself, they need only utter one syllable to the dog and like a cat on a leash, the dog stops dead in it's tracks. I swear, one time I passed a dog and when the owner said "sit", she stopped, sat, raised her paw to her head and saluted. So, this behavior is very achievable with dogs. I worry about the minority of pet walkers who are complete ass-hats and a danger to the pet itself.

What I saw today really pissed me off. While I was riding the trail, some dude was walking the other way by himself, leash in hand, but no dog. Ostensibly, he thought it was a good idea to set Fido free. The guy motioned for me to stop. I did. In a relatively calm voice, he asked me if I had seen a dog back the other way.

At this moment, my blood almost boiled. Here's why:

This winter, I saw more damn stray dogs than ever. Probably in part because they had a dufus for an owner who allowed them to get lost. They looked cold, unkempt and miserable. I truly didn't know what to do. Feed them? Call animal control? Don't even get me started on people who ditch them because they aren't cute puppies any more.

* grrrrrrrrrrrr... *

I'm no animal behavior expert. But, I know that dogs don't thrive alone in the wild. This is largely because they spend half of their time eating road kill that makes them puke and the other half licking their balls...

Cus, ya know...they can.

Oops. So, back to owner guy who stopped me and and inquired about the whereabouts of his lost dog:

I barked back at him "No, I haven't seen him. But, if he were on that leash, you'd know where he was!" And I rode away.

Dude, if you're reading this, seriously, please...

Let someone responsible adopt your dog. And, I'll buy you a frikkin' Webkin.

That's right, I said "frikkin'"...