I actually wrote the draft of this post about a week ago.  Here is what happened:

I was walking with my wife on the sidewalk.  A lady was approaching us from the opposite direction with her dog on a leash.  It was an older yellow lab.  As we approached, I moved over to the right (behind my wife) to give them space to pass.  The dog ignored my wife but stepped towards me as we passed and tried to bite me.  He got a hold of my shirt and snapped the belt loop off my jean shorts.  It happened so quickly, I had no time to react.

When this all registered in my brain, I heard the woman say to her dog, “That’s not nice,” as if she was talking to a child, and she kept walking.  She didn’t turn around or say anything to the guy her dog just tried to bite.

You can imagine, my original post had a different tone than this one.  Fortunately, I decided to sit on it for a week.  I had visions of doggy protesters waving signs in my front lawn, walking their dogs up and down my sidewalk, and pooping in my yard (Actually, with my single-digit readership it would probably be just some old dude with his chihuahua—sorry dad).  Can you imagine how embarrassed those dogs would be at their owners’ behavior?  That’s right, they wouldn’t be embarrassed because they are dogs, not people.

I guess I just don’t understand people why treat their dogs like children.  Maybe it’s because I have children, and have also owned dogs. Yes, I am a dog person, and I do believe they can be a part of your family.  Still, pet owners should understand that they are animals and not people.  They are responsible if their pet injures another person, or damages another’s property.  This means they are responsible to train their dog properly, not treat it like an errant child.

You don’t have to look hard to find headlines about dog attacks, even dogs that attack their owners.  It is not just pit bulls that attack people either.  Dogs of all breeds do it, like the yellow lab that wanted a piece of my shorts, and even the little chihuahua out protesting in my front yard.  The repercussions of a dog attack can be deadly.  As a pet owner, you owe it to not only your fellow humans to train your pet, but also to the pet itself.  It may be your pet’s life that you save through proper training.

I have no hard feeling towards the yellow lab, but I wouldn’t mind taking a bite out of the owner.  Of course, then she would demand that I be put down.