This paper has recently printed some letters complaining about the proliferation of problems with dogs in our dog-friendly community. Although I am positively mushy when it comes to dogs and jump to their defense at the slightest challenge to their right to exist happily here, I must agree with some of the points these letters made.
This dog lover has been dismayed by two chronic problems with our canine friends.
I moved into Ketchum a few months ago and generally enjoy being able to walk to town for almost any errand or chore. One of my favorite pastimes is hitching up my smallish dog to a leash and taking her with me, especially on Sunday mornings when I walk to Atkinsons' for The New York Times and my once-a-week splurge of calories in the form of a jalapeno bagel. The past few weeks, however, have been marred by being chased by a loose dog that seems to smell us when we are in the vicinity of the street behind the Clarion Inn and the Rustic Moose. He runs at us without any response to voice commands.
He is still a big puppy, I think, and I don't blame him for his aggressive behavior: Not only does he not wear an identification tag or license, but he obviously is untrained and undisciplined. I wouldn't mind this if he lived on a ranch somewhere far away, but his presence is not only annoying to me and to my dog (who is terrified of him) but dangerous. He often runs so swiftly and so close to us that he almost knocks me down or gets caught in the leash. In addition, he races back and forth across Highway 75, and I fear he will be killed or cause an accident when cars screech to a halt to avoid hitting him.
After several mornings of this peril, and nonetheless aware that I had erred a couple of times with my late Jack Russell terrier's occasional escapes, I finally called the Ketchum Animal Control officer. She responded while "Spot" (our name for him) was still hassling me and my dog at the steps to my condo. She couldn't get him to come or to get into her car and after several minutes gave up. He proceeded to dash into traffic, causing two drivers to step quickly on their brakes. Need I say more? The irresponsibility of Spot's owner is beyond understanding and makes me join all the sanctimonious people who bewail this phenomenon.
I also must add my increasing irritation with dog owners who refuse to carry bags in their pockets to pick up their dogs' poops. Our condo has plastic bag dispensaries at two entrances and a couple of garbage cans designated for that kind of refuse, and yet I still encounter messes once in awhile on our property. Methinks they are the droppings of some of the many loose dogs in this neighborhood, but I also fear that some owners, even with tagged and leashed dogs, are just too lazy to take the extra time to pick up after their animals.
Even walks out doggie heaven, Trail Creek, are fraught with slimy obstacles, even though there are receptacles by the trails specially designed for such deposits.
Speaking of mess, why don't smokers deposit cigarette butts in clearly marked containers designed for that purpose? I find butts littering the area right around the cans.
I guess I am becoming cranky in my old age. I came up with a wild thought in a dream. I imagined a suitable punishment for murderers and terrorists. They would be forced to watch, over and over, the victims of their violence in happier days, interspersed with images from the morgue. I awoke, happy at first that I envisioned such a brilliant idea, but in the light of day realized offenders with such hard hearts wouldn't be moved to repent, even with those images running 24 hours a day seven days a week.
But how about taking those who allow their dogs to run free and in danger to a doggie version of traffic violator school? They would have to watch moving images of doggies playing, being affectionate and enjoying life with humans. Then they could be shown similar dogs eviscerated on the highway or frozen in the snow. Maybe, just maybe, those who love dogs enough to get them might be moved enough to be responsible for them.
