Anonymous Poster
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- Sep 27, 2005
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The post about 'inhumanity to animals' brought up a question. How long is it before there are strict gudelines and rules regarding how that term is defined by law? Lets face it, almost everything else is either legislated or well on it's way to becoming so. We used to be able to rely on compassion and common sense on many routine issues, but that no longer seems to be the case. How does one determine what is humane treatment? Should dogs be required to earn their keep?
My husband grew up with two parents who were silly about dogs, still are. He grew up with numerous dogs in the house and hated every moment of it. The minute one would be successfully house-trained, along would come another puppy.
You get the picture.
As a result he refuses to allow animals in the house. Short, periods, special circumstances ONLY. I am a dog lover, so therein lies the quandry. We had two dogs in the city that lived outside, in a large community doghouse, were walked regularly, and had clean fresh water daily, etc. Someone called animal welfare on us.
The man from animal welfare informed me point blank, that it was inhumane to leave a dog outside in the heat of summer in Florida as the temperatures were extreme, and if he had his way, he would force mandatory climate control for domestic animals. In other words, keep them in the house, or don't keep them. Huh?
At first I didn't know how to respond. Here I was thinking that I would end up having to search for new homes for my dogs. Then a thought struck me.
"Ya know, my husband works in this heat every day, all day, rain or shine. Unlike these dogs, who have the option to dig a hole, find a cool spot and sleep through it. Furthermore, when the day comes that I am mandated to have air conditioning that I may not choose to pay for, for MYSELF, for the sake of my dogs, I will have a very big problem with that."
This was a clear case of a man making an effort to enforce his own ideas on an unsuspecting, unwitting housewife. He barked up the wrong tree, so to speak. I recieved no ticket or warning, he left with his tail tucked between his legs and I never saw him again.
Of course we make concessions for our dogs in special circumstances, good sturdy doghouses, hurricane preparedness. In extreme bad weather, they bunk in the bathrooms. They know the routine.
It's scary to think that it could happen, though. Our dogs are our burglar alarm system, our guarded sentries, they protect the queen (that would be me) when my husband is away by keeping unsavory individuals off the property. The twelve gauge by the bed is the last line of defense. I kind of like things the way they are.
My husband grew up with two parents who were silly about dogs, still are. He grew up with numerous dogs in the house and hated every moment of it. The minute one would be successfully house-trained, along would come another puppy.
You get the picture.
As a result he refuses to allow animals in the house. Short, periods, special circumstances ONLY. I am a dog lover, so therein lies the quandry. We had two dogs in the city that lived outside, in a large community doghouse, were walked regularly, and had clean fresh water daily, etc. Someone called animal welfare on us.
The man from animal welfare informed me point blank, that it was inhumane to leave a dog outside in the heat of summer in Florida as the temperatures were extreme, and if he had his way, he would force mandatory climate control for domestic animals. In other words, keep them in the house, or don't keep them. Huh?
At first I didn't know how to respond. Here I was thinking that I would end up having to search for new homes for my dogs. Then a thought struck me.
"Ya know, my husband works in this heat every day, all day, rain or shine. Unlike these dogs, who have the option to dig a hole, find a cool spot and sleep through it. Furthermore, when the day comes that I am mandated to have air conditioning that I may not choose to pay for, for MYSELF, for the sake of my dogs, I will have a very big problem with that."
This was a clear case of a man making an effort to enforce his own ideas on an unsuspecting, unwitting housewife. He barked up the wrong tree, so to speak. I recieved no ticket or warning, he left with his tail tucked between his legs and I never saw him again.
Of course we make concessions for our dogs in special circumstances, good sturdy doghouses, hurricane preparedness. In extreme bad weather, they bunk in the bathrooms. They know the routine.
It's scary to think that it could happen, though. Our dogs are our burglar alarm system, our guarded sentries, they protect the queen (that would be me) when my husband is away by keeping unsavory individuals off the property. The twelve gauge by the bed is the last line of defense. I kind of like things the way they are.
