Tweet Follow @sfitzyfly The people I meet everyday.: 2017

Saturday 29 July 2017

Responsibility.

I was out running through my local park recently, when I approached a lady walking in the opposite direction with two Scottish terriers in tow. Dogs are allowed off their leash whilst under their owners' supervision.

Coming off a steep downslope, one of the dogs with buckets of attitude, came snarling forward with teeth bared.

Travelling in the opposite direction, I ignored the dog as it did a spin to follow me, nipping at my ankles. The female owner didn't even blink, continued walking and didn't recall the dog.

Running about fifty metres with this pup ever gaining, I had to take control of the situation. I did what it least expected and turned and shouted at it. Frightened, the poor thing hadn't a clue what to do. It scuttled away, following its master.

The dog owner looked back toward her own dog, with leads swinging in her right hand.

I shouted at the owner, about a hundred feet away, if she knew the rules of the park. If dogs cannot be supervised properly, they should be kept on a lead.

Your dog must be accompanied by and be under your effective control or the control of another responsible person if it is outside your home or premises or the home or premises of the person in charge of it.

Her simple reply was:

"He hates joggers."

She never apologised for her dogs' actions and seemed used to him doing it, oblivious to others.

I shouted after her that she was an ignorant woman, inconsiderate to other people using the park. I then called her several expletives under my breath. As I jogged away, I started thinking if that same thing had happened to a child, would her laid-back attitude still be the same?

We have a young son of three and he is energetic. I'd like to think that we're doing a decent job and instilling good manners as part of routine.

What frightens me most is the amount of parents that take very little interest in their child's development, education and responsibility for their actions.

It's a bit like the dog owner not giving two hoots about what actions her dog took toward a stranger. The dog doesn't just learn this overnight, just like a child. It takes a pattern of learned helplessness for a child to do something bold or wrong, and not get chastised for it. To the child, this pattern isn't wrong, as their role model is not telling them any different.

Prime example for me would be local playgrounds. Our son loves getting outdoors and swings are a favourite of his. The amount of parents or guardians that sit on a bench staring into their phone for fifteen or twenty minutes, without once glancing in the direction of their own child, is frightening. On numerous occasions, one of us has appraoched the parent asking if they were actually there with a child - because the child is screaming after falling and they haven't noticed!

I understand that having more than one child is tough, and any respite for a parent, for five or ten minutes staring at a screen, seems like a welcome distraction.

Being a parent or guardian for a dog, is your responsibility.

Once you sign a document or attach your name to a birth register, you are ultimately accountable for them and their actions. Whether they are wrong or not, you have to teach them the right path.

I have since decided that I will give Scottish terrier lady another chance. I run through that park at least twice a week and see many people on a regular basis using our neighbourhood amenity.

No doubt I'll bump into her, and her dogs again.

Will they be on a lead? Will they be supervised properly?

I'd better get the number of the local dog warden.

Friday 20 January 2017