Blindie fails and wins in Davis.

[squonk.livejournal.com]

- Two barking, snarling bulldogs pinning me and my guide dog to the wall on Elm and Day Streets yesterday afternoon. The dogs were on-leash, but it took both the owner and another gentleman to physically pull the dogs away. My guide dog was okay. I was less okay, emotionally (but fine physically). It takes a lot to get me to scream.

+ The owner making a point of coming into Starbucks, identifying himself, and apologizing profusely. It was clear that he felt absolutely terrible, and I give him significant credit for actively taking responsibility, which a lot of other people would not have done.

- My being too rattled to say this to him at the time: Please do not walk your aggressive dogs in a public space, especially in the middle of the afternoon, when they're clearly not under your control and a danger to others. They need to be muzzled or they need to stay home. (I'm not trying to be passive-aggressive by posting this here; again, I was just too unnerved at the time to say or do anything useful.) Had my guide dog been injured, all the apologies of the world could not have mitigated the damage to my life.

+ The witness who ended up in front of me in the line at Starbucks expressing her compassion, then proceeding to pay for my drink. Wow. I think her name was Christina, and she made things much more bearable.

- Feeling calmer and proceeding toward home, only to be treated hostilely by another denizen because I did not want to cross Chester Street exactly when she told me to. When I said I was trying to listen to the traffic first, she snapped, "Fine--all you're hearing is a parked car running right now, so you do what you want!" Dear Self-Appointed Crossing Guard: a. I've been crossing streets all by myself for my entire adult life, and since I am an adult, you don't get to make my mobility decisions for me; b. You forgot to ask me if I needed or wanted assistance (a request may well be appreciated; an assumption/insistence never is); c. Your shouting, "It's safe! Go! I said it's safe! CROSS! IT'S SAFE! I'M STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET!" oddly does not inspire a lot of confidence; d. Feel free to go back and stand in the middle of the street for a while, IYKWIM.

- Not wanting to leave my house today.

+ Remembering that Davis Square-ians are actually on the whole some of the most educated, respectful, and generous people I've met anywhere, and that I love living here. Maybe I will leave the house after all.

Comments

Terrible.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

All dogs that size should be required to be muzzled anyway, when being taken around public places. Many times, tiny people are seen holding one or more huge dogs on a leash. Obviously, these people would not be able to control their dogs, so the leash is only symbolic.

Re: Terrible.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Really? Are you suggesting we should put a leash on the owners? You don't think that a good kick in the nose would take care of a small dog out of control? I know it does, for having tried it a few times. Still waiting for the owner to complain about that. I don't give a damn how "well trained" a large animal is. Nobody knows what that means, anyway, and nobody can predict reactions by animals in crowded urban environments. I want large animals muzzled, so that, when they go nuts they cannot kill or severely injure a person. I can deal with the small ones.

Re: Terrible.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I would suggest you not feed our troll.

Re: Terrible.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Local under-the-bridge type. =)

Re: Terrible.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

it's never been clear to me what wifi provider set that access point up under McGrath.

Re: Terrible.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I always assumed it was the RR bridge in Ball, but I could be wrong.

Re: Terrible.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Instead, I hear about people getting killed by small dogs ALL the time!
I demand mandatory muzzling of large dogs in public places. It's coming, only a matter of time.