Walk for Guide Dogs and Responsible Dog Ownership

For the past few years I've attended the annual "Walk for Guide Dogs" through the Lions Foundation of Canada. We raise money through work, and through private donations and then walk around a lake in our area. This year it was very wet, and cold. But despite the crappy weather our City was able to raise 30,000! Pretty amazing for a small city. The turn out was decent, although not as great as last year. I am sure the weather played a big part in that.



Vito got to tag along today- and I think he enjoyed himself mostly. He hates puddles, but didn't seem to mind the rain itself. He had a good time looking at the ducks on the lake, and he enjoyed the yummy cookies I brought along.

There were two instances of poor dog ownership that I wanted to talk about.

One, was not only an example of irresponsibility, but also potentially very tragic. When we arrived we could see there was a little loose dog- looked like a chocolate lab, but in beagle form. She had no collar on and was obviously spooked, and not very trusting of people. I started throwing food for her, and gradually she moved closer and closer. Each time she saw a new dog she would dart away to visit so I had to start all over again. Finally I borrowed Jo's dog Tate (he is very friendly and non-threatening) and started feeding. The little dog started taking treats from my hand so I knew I had her. I started asking her to sit for her cookies and finally she was close enough for me to grab. I grabbed her, she snapped at me, but I held on. It turns out the people who brought her were actually the neighbors- not her owners and she slipped her collar. The young girl walks the dog every day because it's owners don't. This dog has not likely had any socialising with people or dogs, and little training. I felt very badly for the people who brought her- not only were they unable to catch her, but were very worried about her. We were not very far from a busy road.... In this case it ended okay. I was able to catch her, and they put her back in the car. But what if I had not been able to catch her? I very nearly gave up, and the other people who were trying to help by literally trying to "catch" her were not helping the situation at all. They drove to the area, so she would not have been able to find her own way home. She was very spooked about people, and after my snatch and grab it is unlikely she will fall for that trick again. People REALLY need to socialise their dogs. Get them out around people, and dogs, and in all sorts of environments. And train your dog. At the very least teach them their name. This little dog had no idea what her name was. Such a small thing could save a life.

And the other thing? Shit. People need to pick up after their dogs. It is not hard. They were handing out bags at the registration thingy. Seriously. Nothing annoys me more.

Other than those two things it was a pretty great way to spend a few hours. I like to support as many of those types of things as I can. Makes me feel good. :o)