Question for all Dog-owners
I saw a slightly strange thing yesterday.
Walking home, I saw a green pickup truck racing down Holladay at a steady 10-15mph. The distracted driver alternated between keeping the vehicle on track with the road, and making sounds and gesturing with his left hand hanging out the window to the racing dog keeping pace with the truck.
I stopped dead in my tracks, unsure where this racing animal was going (or the constantly-correcting pickup, for that matter). The driver cried "Don't Worry!" as he sped past. The dog was large, seemed happy enough (not barking, eyes focussed), and smart enough not to try to run between me and the car.
The man was probably the dog's owner, so this wasn't a bizarre dog-catching method or house-thief distraction technique (at least I hope it wasn't). Still, the man was fitter than me, and yet seemed unwilling to run* with this dog...which rates as 'lazy' in my book (I should know, I've written several chapters! *g*).
Does this count as animal maltreatment? At a minimum, it feels like a traffic violation to me.
*Or in the various Bay Area permutations of roller-blade & skateboard mushing, or cycling.
Walking home, I saw a green pickup truck racing down Holladay at a steady 10-15mph. The distracted driver alternated between keeping the vehicle on track with the road, and making sounds and gesturing with his left hand hanging out the window to the racing dog keeping pace with the truck.
I stopped dead in my tracks, unsure where this racing animal was going (or the constantly-correcting pickup, for that matter). The driver cried "Don't Worry!" as he sped past. The dog was large, seemed happy enough (not barking, eyes focussed), and smart enough not to try to run between me and the car.
The man was probably the dog's owner, so this wasn't a bizarre dog-catching method or house-thief distraction technique (at least I hope it wasn't). Still, the man was fitter than me, and yet seemed unwilling to run* with this dog...which rates as 'lazy' in my book (I should know, I've written several chapters! *g*).
Does this count as animal maltreatment? At a minimum, it feels like a traffic violation to me.
*Or in the various Bay Area permutations of roller-blade & skateboard mushing, or cycling.