The Dog Days

I know the "Dog Days" have gone: the calendar has flipped and we turn our attention to the harvesting of the crops...stop me -- the closest thing to harvesting I do is picking through the grapes on sale (.99 a pound!!!) at the Star Market.

So what about the Dog Days?. Well, herein, they relate to the dogs on the road. You know, the cuddly ones -- off leash -- that "will never hurt anyone" as their moron owners will attest.

Kids are heading back to school and kids mean walking (not as much as before). Little bodies hop-skip-and-jumping their way to some round faced school marm waiting for her apple (wait a moment, that's "Little House on the Prairie"). The point is, however, kids are small, and to them dogs are big. According to stats found on the site, "dogbitelaw.com", the jaws and claws of "Fido the Friendly Dog" accounted for over 330,000 emergency visits in the most recent year of collected stats. That is second only to baseball/softball.

Each and every one of those 330k blood gushers was caused by a dog that "would not hurt a fly" as owners say so often. Well, I am sorry, but insects not withstanding, I am not interested in a dog's friendship with flies (or fleas for that matter).

When a neighbor allows a dog to stand free, a child is at risk, ans an astute child will be fearful for his safety. And a child fearful for his safety because some boorish owner considers his pooch to be a grand member of society worthy of free roaming is a child in a neighborhood that is diminished and small; made small by small minds of self serving louts.

So let the kids go to school assured in the safety of the streets. Leash and restain your animal. Give children the chance to be better than you. Live in a kennel if you must, but do not ask others to do it with you.