[nagdu] Re Dogs Not Public Property

[Elizabeth Rene]

I loved that article about the public attitude of entitlement to pet other 
people's dogs.

There really does seem to be something primal in people's response to 
cuteness--the almost irresistible urge to pet a dog, to pinch a toddler's 
cheek, etc., etc.  I have to admit that I've asked more than once if I could 
pet someone else's dog.  Sometimes, it's really hard not to.  And isn't it 
good, after all, and when reasonably and courteously expressed, that people 
have warm and loving feelings toward us and our animals?

But down with aggressive petting!

In fact, I think there aughtta be a law.

There really are--and haven't we NAGDU's all met one--people who just won't 
take "no" for an answer.

And then there are those petters who just zoom in for the attack, screeching 
"ooooohhhh honey!  You're sooooo cuuuuuute!" or snarling "other people let 
me pet their dogs!!!!!!"

You want to issue commands.  "DOWN!  "GET DOWN, NOW!!!  You want to plant 
your feet, square your shoulders, draw yourself up to your full height, and 
order, like a drill sergeant, "GO HOME!!!"  That works when loose and unruly 
dogs invade OUR space, doesn't it?  How about loose and unruly people?

The only way I can cope with this phenomenon is to remember a story my aunt 
told me about living in the Yukon territory.  She said that my little 
cousin, Brenda, was the first blonde child the indigenous people there had 
ever seen.  They couldn't keep from touching her.  They just couldn't 
believe their eyes.  It took a long, long time for Brenda to blend into the 
scenery while her parents forged the relationships so needful to survival in 
the North.

So I wonder if there isn't something about this hands-on behavior that isn't 
somehow basic to being human--the kind of thing that only skillful parenting 
and the will of the community can modify.

And I remember my aunt's story as I  fend off the petterazzi and point my 
dog to the nearest secret passage away from the crowd.

When that doesn't help, I fantasize about taking their picture, posting it 
all over U-Tube, and letting their silly mugs go viral!

Evil grin.

Elizabeth