Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Day Twenty One – Responsible Dog Owners

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I had a blog all set in my mind tonight but something happened when I was walking my dog and I need to vent.  We have neighbors that live across the street and two houses down that have three Italian Bulldogs, once they attacked my neighbor’s dog and once while Chet was walking Sampson one of them attacked him.  Tonight their target was Delilah who happened to be walking with me and who also happens to take no shit. 

The truth of the matter is that Delilah has become a little aggressive with dogs when she is on the leash and I have been taking her to obedience class and trying to learn how to stop this behavior.  Delilah is a chocolate lab, while she probably only weighs about 30 pounds  more than the bulldog, she is MUCH taller.  Now normally if she becomes aggressive with no provocation, I will correct her, but I am not correcting my dog while she is being attacked.

So Chet and Sampson are ahead of us and Delilah and I are walking slowly up the street, literally two driveways away from our home.  From the left side of me, I heard the neighbor yell for his dog, there was a car coming down the street and as I looked to my left I saw these two Italian Bull Dogs running at us, they ran in front of the car and I guess that is what really made me freeze was thinking that these dogs were running in front of a car.  My dog had been sitting because we make our dogs sit when cars approach, so we were just waiting.  Well these two dogs are attacking my dog and I am doing my best not to lose her leash, but still stay out-of-the-way of three snarling dogs, because oh yes my dog is defending herself.  I heard the neighbor as he was approaching and shouting for his dogs, say something about the dogs and I said, she will not take it, she will let them have it.  Well he managed to get to us and get one of the dogs away, but the other one came right back at her and again I did nothing.  Finally he got his dog under control and said, “Sorry.”

As soon as I got her back to the house I checked her out and she has a little irritation on one of her elbows, but otherwise seems fine.  Here is my big gripe, why doesn’t this neighbor keep his dogs on leash, especially when they have gone after three different dogs?  These dogs don’t even have collars on them.  To top it off these neighbors are related to one of my daughter’s friends so I don’t want to rock the boat.  But I think I am going to have to say something to them about their dogs as nicely as I can, before I have to call the dog warden.

Day Twenty – Under Arrest

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Maybe you heard about a book that was available on Amazon last month called, “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct” a self-published book by a man named Philip Ray Greaves II.  It created quite a lot of noise and Amazon stopped selling it.  Well a sheriff in Polk County Florida  had arrested Mr. Greaves for violating Florida’s obscenity law.  Mr. Greaves is currently in Colorado, where he lives waiting to be extradited to Florida.  I’m ok with Mr. Greaves being extradited, in fact what currently has me incensed is that a Denver Attorney, David Lane who apparently has tried some very high-profile First Amendment Cases says, “The main question is whether what he’s accused of in Florida would be a crime in Colorado.  Obviously, it’s not a crime in Colorado because he hasn’t been arrested here.”  Really?  If it isn’t a crime in Colorado, it damn well should be!

If you haven’t read the article, here is a brief synopsis “Greaves has no criminal record, but his self-published book of advice on how to make sexual encounters with children safe caused a flap when it showed up on Amazon in November.”  YOU THINK?  Someone please tell me how you make sexual encounters safe for a child?  That has got to be one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard.  There is no way a sexual encounter of ANY kind is safe for a child.  The damage that is done every day to children is disgusting and the fact that the State of Colorado doesn’t find this to be against the law disgusts me.   The sheriff in Polk County, Grady Judd says “the book included first-person descriptions of sexual encounters, purportedly written from a child’s point of view.”  This tells me that Mr. Greaves either was molested himself as a child or has spoken to a child who has been molested.  I cannot, as a survivor myself imagine how a child would describe this vile and disgusting act in any way that would make it seem like it was ok.  

A guide that details sexual conduct with a child is child pornography in my book, and according to Sheriff Judd, the book is “clearly a manifesto on how to sexually batter children.”  I cannot even believe that Amazon would carry such a book and that here actually had to be some flap about it before they removed it!  I have to quote Sheriff Judd again, “What’s wrong with a society that has gotten to the point that we can’t arrest child pornographers and child molesters who write a book about how to rape a child?” 

I’m just glad I don’t live in Colorado.

 

Day Nineteen – Jobless feel anger over relief

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This was the headline that grabbed my attention today.  I had to know why people who recieved an extension on unemployment were angry.  So I read it and I have to say I agree with their anger and it is justified.

People who have lost their jobs have had to live on unemployment and food stamps and apparently there are people protesting when they go to the food stamp office.  I’m the first person to say we need to draw the line with Social Services, but not for the people who need them.  The people I think should be cut off are the people who WON’T  take care of themselves and simply rely on the government because they feel it is their right;  not people who are willing to work and simply can’t find a job. 

There is also another reason that these people are angered; and that is because the way the Republicans in Congress strong armed the President; and I have to agree with that as well.  I am really pissed off about that.  Holding the people who need benefits hostage in order to keep the tax cuts for the rich.  It’s wrong and it shouldn’t happen!  I mean these are people who can’t pay their utility bills, who don’t have money for food.  Who are educated and experienced and just can’t find work. 

I would like to know if there is a way to overhaul congress?  To make our congressman deal with one issue at a time instead of rolling a bunch of issues into one bill.   Can congress be reformed?  Is it as simple as voting in fresh voices, or will people continue (like CT did) to vote in the same people with their same agendas?

What will it take America?

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