One of the worst things that happen to
me, during my military deployment, was the expectation. You get your
orders to go, you know that someone is out there,waiting to kill you and you
have to go. The actual shoot out when it happens is a breeze cause
you are engaged, adrenaline is pumping and you are nothing more than
a well trained animal. Fear and stress come afterwards.
Problem with me is that after the war
ended, I am living in that expectation my entire post war life. The
expectation that I will be bitten, that I will not be able to sleep,
that someone from my family might get bitten. But also cats that I
love so much are in constant fear for their lives and I live in a
constant expectation that that moment will come where all I could do
is to helplessly watch how it gets torn to bits, cause the humane dog
(animal) protection law prohibits me to intervene in any case. It
is not that I can't do it but the legal consequences are far to
grave. Just yesterday a cat was mauled close to my window,AGAIN, by
the same dog that has been terrorising the cats for the past seven
years. It already racked up 10 of them. The dogcraver doesn't give a
shit, as usual, he doesn't have that kind of problem and he is doing
this every night for the past seven years at 8pm and 11pm.
Until one day, I've lost my nerve and
showed up on my window, by the same time as his dog was chasing the
cat which managed to climb up the tree and the dog was barking like
10 feet from my window. I showed up with an axe and said :”With
this I like to neuter naughty puppies”. From that moment the
dogcraver became aware that his dog might get killed and he started
to pay attention. However, he described me as the total nutjob and
the insane person. Other dogcravers also made comments about my state
of mind. One of those comments is the standard victim-criminal
switch, where I am the villain and he is the good guy. But other
comment is even more interesting, though.
They all are bothered about the fact
that I am protesting for something that is not happening within my
apartment aka my own property. The fact that the sound that their
dogs are making is violating my property is irrelevant. The fact that
they are breaking the animal protection act in front of me is
irrelevant. The fact that they are doing this for the past 7 years is
irrelevant. I do agree,however, that a man standing with an axe at
the window is scary. But not for a second did they ever thought that
they are the cause for that. That they are the reason for me holding
the axe.
Back to the expectation. The very
thought that the dog that can kill you,harm you in the public space,
,for nothing, creates the same expectation that I described at the
beginning. And that expectation is what shatters lives. Cause it is
unbearable setting to live in. It is unbearable to expect to be be
bitten and eaten by the beast in the urban setting. It is bearable to know,
that there is a criminal, that there is a mugger, that there is a sex
offender but now on top of all that you have jaws.
What is the point of the law, of the
law enforcement, what is the point of the government when they all
are failing on the basic presumption that human habitat should be
safe from carnivore animals.
I mean, why the fuck did we ever left
the caves?
I believe that at some point, the needs of the majority are going to assert themselves. I wrote an essay earlier this year, "Overton Window of Political possibility" where I posited that the "cravers" may wind up with their heads in a noose.
ReplyDeleteDeclaring all loose dogs "varmints" and shoot on sight is only a pen stroke away. Dogs do not have civil rights anywhere that I know of.
The insurmountable hurdle with the notion of universal dog destruction is the moral issue - the fact that human existence for so many people has become a hellhole not because of dogs, but because of their owners.
ReplyDeleteDestroying millions of owners would probably upset them somewhat despite my feeling that this course appears appropriate.
But looking deeper, we realise that it's not so much the owners themselves, but the abominable attitudes they have, in particular - extreme selfishness.
One can demolish dogs, and one can demolish owners, but what really needs destruction most is owner arrogance, selfishness and self-righteousness. These qualities are intangibles - that is, you can't get your hands on them.
Additionally we must face the fact that until those hideous qualities are destroyed, dog owners are free to find another vehicle for their wretched expression even if the planet contained not a aingle dog anywhere.
So what's needed most is an enlightened and substantial change in human thinking.
I perceive no signs of this. Does anyone?
Yes, it is indeed an owner issue and while removing dangerous animals is a priority, focusing on the OWNERS should be the priority.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I get frustrated with the "Pit Bull" debate. Its all about the dog, dog, dog, dog, DOG! Sure, placing restrictions on Pit Bulls is sensible, but what is PRIORITY is to place restrictions on THOSE PEOPLE WHO USE ANIMALS AS WEAPONS. Lock their dead asses up! That way, we don't have to WORRY about what "things" are available because the psychopath is NOT available!
I wrote a new essay today that you will like.
Do the dogs bother anyone else? Dog owners can be especially arrogant when dealing with one person, but they sometimes back down when confronted by a group.
ReplyDeleteIn my neighborhood, we had a pit bull breeder live 2 houses away from me a few years ago. Two of my neighbors and I formed a harassment committee, and we took turns calling the police, Animal Control, and the city code office to report them for various violations. One woman called the tenant's landlord and visited his office several times. The collective harassment effort took a while, but it worked - the pit breeders moved out, and took their 12 pits with them.
You could also try filming the dog and uploading the videos to YouTube. I've got 15 barking dog videos on YouTube. And one of a Weimaraner running loose in a park. Dog owners fear being recorded.