missdeedsy

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EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS.

Depression is not a synonym for being sad or having a bad day/bad week.

Okay so here’s the thing. I love dogs. Dogs are amazing wonderful creatures. But we have to stop acting like dogs are perfect, or safe to be around every one and every thing.

I just watched a gif of a man walking his dog when they came upon kittens. The dog immediately lunged - only to have the mother cat barrel in and scare the dog off. I was furious, because the owner sat and watched as his dog lunged at a kitten - and had to be beaten off of it by its mother.

In the comments people were discussing it, saying “That dog just wanted to play! He wasn’t going to actually *hurt* the kitten!”

And I’d really like us to stop this. 

“He just wants to say hi,”

“he’s just trying to play”

are two phrases commonly said by people who do not understand their dogs behavior, and make excuses for them.

That dog did not want to play. When dogs want to play, they change their body language and start using different behavior - most obviously the play bow. They sniff first, and get introductions out of the way. If your dog lunges for something the moment they set its eyes on it - they do not want to play. Just imagine, if you were a kid who had never met someone before and they just straight up attacked you. That would be different from someone walking up and saying “hey, do you wanna play/wrestle?”

And here’s the thing. There’s nothing wrong with that dog, it just should not be allowed around animals smaller than it. Cats, hamsters, rabbits, hedgehogs, even toy breeds of dogs, I wouldn’t consider safe. And thats OK! You can have a perfectly happy life with your dog never harming any animals as long as you know this and make sure to pay attention. But if that dog harms a kitten or other small animal, I blame the owner, who should have known better.

We have to be responsible owners and know our dogs. And as people, we need to stop making excuses for other animals and instead do our best to make sure everyone in the situation is safe, not just the dog who “just wants to play” or “was just trying to say hi”, while barreling straight for something.

It got to the point where I started to develop a (slight) fear of dogs there. It was like I was watching over my shoulder every time because it generally happened at least once a visit.

I don’t know dog body language, so sometimes they’d be barking or growling and full out running at me. Even now, I don’t really know how to judge whether they’re aggressive or playful. Sometimes it was just a big dog barreling at me, and I never knew what to do other than stand there and wait to see what happened.

It was way too common for me to ask the owner to please get their dog, and for them to either think I was being ridiculous or to not even apologize. One day there were three dogs, and they managed to come up behind me without me realizing until they were close and nearly knock me over. I started crying, and the owner – who didn’t see it because the dogs ran ahead – thought I was absolutely crazy.  “They’re just being friendly,” he told me.

And like I get it, they trust their dogs and know they wouldn’t hurt anyone, but I can’t judge that, and I also just sometimes want experiences without dogs doing that. 

In the past I’ve been jumped on by dogs before, but this was a whole new experience. It was terrifying.

I would definitely NOT want anyone’s dogs jumping on me and being anywhere near my cats, no matter how well trained they are. I have more than once seen dogs attacking cats and I’ve had my fair share of MY OWN cats killed by dogs that belong to other people.

So no matter how friendly or well trained your dog is, don’t be offended if I choose not to be anywhere near them. 

“You have the same sense of moral activism in your life as an emotionless sentient operating system.“ 

if youre going to have pets, their needs are a TOP priority

if you cant afford vet bills, PLEASE dont get pets.  

its not about poorer people not “deserving” pets its literally just. a shelter may provide better care than you can 

not taking your animals to the vet is medical neglect and its cruel

their needs come above your wants because theyre living breathing creatures who depend on you

okay

“you can’t do that because of my religious beliefs”