[Minnie]

I've mentioned before that we live across from a mixed use/off leash park. Daily, sometimes multiple times in a day, we are witness to dog owners screaming at other dog owners because almost none of them seem to be able to comprehend that outside of the park, all dogs MUST be leashed - and invariably, someone's dog charges someone else's dog and it's on like donkey kong. It's the law (bylaw), that they must be leashed and very few dogs - I'd estimate that 95% of the dogs are not leashed. We've seen owners nearly come to blows, more than once. There has yet to be a bad dog fight/mauling here, but it's come close a few times.

We have had dogs charge from across the street, and come into our home, bouncing off our furniture. We have pulled into our driveway and I've had someone's dog in my lap the second I open the car door. I have no idea if the dog is going to lose its schmidt if I try pushing it off my lap, so I have to wait for the owner to retrieve it. We have rescued people's dogs from the middle of the street, saving them from getting splattered by the idiot around the corner who drives like a maniac.

We have been chased out of our own front yard/driveway by unleashed, aggressive dogs. We have been screamed at, and nearly assaulted because we had the temerity apparently, to remind them that their dog must be leashed outside of the park, as they're yelling at their dog to come back to them. If you have zero recall with your dog, then your dog is not trained. When the bylaw mentions "care & control", your dog coming when called is part of that, and that stands, even inside the dog park. But, these are also the people who park across our driveway constantly, who try to argue that it isn't a driveway. These are the same people who have physically assaulted our neighbor when she has tried to protect herself from their unleashed aggressive dog.

Our dogs aren't allowed in the front yard anymore. Too many aggressive dogs and dumbarse owners. We have been told by 1 woman, that she doesn't have to comply because she's a cop's wife and has a special license that means she doesn't have to leash her dog. Right. Sure. And I'm actually Johnny Gaudreau, lady. There used to be a guy who showed up with his 2 dogs (Labs) crammed in the back of his truck, locked under the tonneau cover. He would stand at the back of the truck and work those dogs up to a lather, getting them ridiculously overexcited, then he'd whip the tailgate down and those dogs would shoot out of the back of that truck like bullets, barking frantically, charging toward the park. He'd laugh and laugh at people who panicked at the sight of his dogs coming at them and their dogs, so aggressively. Our entire street finally Karen'd him away from coming to this park, because of how he behaved with his dogs. He hasn't been around in a year. Calling the cops/bylaw is pointless, all we ever hear is how they couldn't possibly do their job. The only time we'll ever see any jump out of them, will be when someone's dog or a kid/adult gets mauled badly, or killed.

I used to defend pitties/bully breeds. I can't anymore. I especially can't after watching that horrific video someone linked a page or 2 back. I feel bad for the dog, because I tend to think, based on everything we witness every day, in front of our home, that it's primarily an owner issue and the dog is screwed because their owner is an idiot. They were originally bred to bite and hold bulls, bears and other large animals around the face and head. That is not the job they are bred to do anymore. Now, they seem to be an ego/status thing and people don't seem to really know how to deal with them and that is such a disservice to the dogs, and for that I feel sorry for the dogs because they have no chance because of that.

There's also always going to be some of them that are just bat guano crazy, that's true of every breed - we took in a small terrier type dog about 10 years ago, who lost her mind over changing homes. We worked with her for months, but it was clear that nothing was working, NOTHING. We tried everything and even the vet finally conceded that nothing was likely to work. She was euthanized because she could not be trusted around any of us any more and it wasn't fair for her to be that traumatized and spend her life locked in a crate. That was our responsibility, as owners, to recognize that not every dog can be saved/rehabilitated and it's the kinder thing to euthanize them.

We have a neighbor down the street that has 2 pitties. They are NEVER off-leash, and both he and his girlfriend have done and continue to do extensive training with them. They are incredibly well-behaved dogs but I still give them the side-eye because there has been a lot go wrong for a lot of the breed. Even if I was interested in the breed, I know that they are far too much dog for me to handle, and I don't have the time or energy (nor physical ability anymore) to do the extensive training that breed needs.

I don't know what the answer is. I know that on the whole, dog owners around here anyway, are utter #####e and it's reflected in their dogs. We know the good dogs that come here, with caring owners and we interact with them whenever we can. We know which dogs are allowed treats and they know we're good for a treat, LOL. The best dog I'll never own lives 5 houses down from us and she stops on her way to and from walks, for ear scritches and pats. I just wish there were more owners like hers.