My Dog Teaches … Personal Responsibility
Right
off the bat, I must apologize for the plastic bag filled with
dog poop that I left on city property. I didn’t really mean to
leave it there; my intention was to take it with me and properly
dispose of it. I could say I had a good excuse for my
indiscretion, but as this column is about personal
responsibility, I will not. So I will just say I am sorry.
Now the story. My dog Hunny loves to play. And run. And play.
Now I am perfectly willing to concede that she may be an anomaly
in the dog world; for her, playing and exercise are more
important than eating. She never seems to tire of fetching a
ball, dropping it at my feet and looking at me excitedly to
throw the ball again.
But because she is an American Staffordshire Terrier and falls
under the "pit bull" category, I have become very cautious about
where we do so. Not because of any concerns about what Hunny
might do to others – the only thing she might do is drop the
ball at a stranger’s feet, looking expectantly at him or her to
throw the ball and join in the game – but because of what others
could potentially do to my dog and me.
So Hunny and I have tended to stick to out-of-the-way and
sparsely populated areas to play ball so she can get the
exercise she needs. On this particular Saturday afternoon, we
were on a bit of greenery in an industrial area playing fetch.
Not a soul around. An occasional car drove by.
Unfortunately, one of them happened to be driven by an animal
control officer. What followed next became surreal, like a scene
from a Kafka novel.
"Do you know that your dog has to be muzzled and on a leash?" To
which I innocently asked, "What is the purpose of the law; is it
to protect the public? There isn’t anyone around."
To my astonishment, she spat out with considerable vehemence,
"The purpose of the law is for everyone to obey the law!" (Not
only does this not make any sense, it is a perfect example of a
circular argument.)
When she started telling me that she could have Hunny taken away
and destroyed and that I could be fined up to $10,000, I became
a bit nervous. But when she started on about how the law is the
law, that she didn’t make the law, that the Attorney General is
the person responsible for bringing in this law, that she was
only there to enforce the law, I realized for the first time
that Hunny and I were in a very dangerous situation.
For the real danger became clear. With the "pit bull"
legislation on the books, this woman had become a robot.
Somewhere along the line, she had relinquished her own power of
observation and personal responsibility.
Blame it on the law. Blame the Attorney General. Blame anyone
else. She had the power to cause some devastating effects and no
sense of personal responsibility for her potential actions. An
attitude of "It’s nothing to do with me." "I’m only following
orders." "I didn’t make the law." "It’s your responsibility to
obey the law."
In an absurd twist, she even had the nerve to tell me that,
because I did not have my dog muzzled and on a leash in the
middle of nowhere, I was being an "irresponsible dog owner."
This is when I beat a hasty retreat and left behind the bag of
dog poop. And I admit, I should have returned to handle it after
I realized my mistake when I was half way home. So, again, for
this I am sorry.
But I will not apologize for "disobeying" a law that makes it
impossible for me to give Hunny the exercise she needs. As any
dog expert will tell you, exercise is the first and most
important step in creating a healthy, happy, well-behaved and
friendly dog. For a government to try to legislate out of
existence what is natural behavior and to then demand rote
obedience to an impractical law is asking for trouble.
Responsibility can only be invited; it cannot be enforced with a
hammer.
When common sense and personal responsibility are usurped by
petty rules and regulations, chaos and injustice follow. For
what was my grievous offense? Playing with my dog. Giving her
the exercise she needs. And, yes, even being a responsible dog
owner.
Except of course for the dog poop left behind. [Sorry!]
