Warning: Rant a’comin’
I know practically everyone in the world is in love with dogs except for me.
I don’t care.
Dogs are scary and capable of real harm. And hundreds of thousands of people get injured every single year by dogs.
Yet, for some reason, recently, I’ve been seeing a lot of dogs off leashes(!) in downtown(!) Los Angeles.
Hey dog owners, I respect your right to have, love, and walk your animal. But guess what? I live downtown, among humans, in a crowded place, without greenery for a reason!
If you want your dogs to roam free, please go get a yard somewhere. Or go to a dog park. Or go somewhere that’s not crowded downtown LA.
Do you think it’s a good idea to have dogs roaming freely right by an area with so much traffic? Are you not worried your dog might run into that traffic? Or that it might cause commotion in one of the only places in LA where there’s actually foot traffic?
Not long ago, there was this guy who had his dog on one of those retractable leashes. But he was just checking his iPhone, not paying any attention to the living, breathing creature he’d decided to bring out into the world.
I went literally into the street to avoid this dog. I’m two lanes into the street (and can’t go any farther without really putting myself in car danger), with the dog looking straight at me, prancing closer and closer to me the whole time.
I screamed a little (not a huge one, just a startled short one) as the dog was inches away from me. I didn’t know what else to do. I felt trapped, and that was my natural reaction that just happened, without me thinking about it.
The owner looked up at me like I was crazy! I actually apologized as I walked past. Saying, “I’m so sorry. I’m just really terrified of dogs.”
I don’t regret treating him politely, however I probably shouldn’t apologize to the person, who is responsible for an animal, who is completely not paying a single bit of attention whatsoever. I know twitter’s interesting, man. But there are other people in the world you need to be cognizant of.
But, at least his dog was on a leash! (Even if it did seem to be a never-ending one.)
I’ve seen multiple people now walking dogs with no leashes whatsoever.
I don’t think that’s a good idea for the people around, or for the dogs!
Thankfully, my building has a no dog policy. (I truly have the best building in the universe.) However, my building cannot protect me on my walk to and from the Metro station.
I know I just said the other day how much I didn’t need a car. However, I guess with this post I have now truly seen the value of cars, and I finally understand exactly why people need them. It’s not for convenience. It’s to escape the dogs.