Don't Get Me Wrong

[SaucySailoress]

Here in Kuwait, dogs are not well-loved by the mostly moslem population. When they are owned it is usually as a guard dog who lives outside and is treated in much the same way as a slave. Or sometimes lap dog type things are adopted and taken inside house. They are badly trained (since the locals largely don't know how to be firm and train a dog), and then they are thrown on the streets when they misbehave. There they form packs, and generally need to be caught and destroyed.

Our collie / st bernard cross was one such dog. 7 years ago, after she camped outside our house for a week we took her in. We fed her, watered her, bathed her and tried to train her. She is a very kindly dog. For some reason she is adored by most locals. If I walk her down the promenade I have to stop every 5 minutes for the trail of kids to gawp and dig their hands into her fur. I feel like the Pied Piper.

(although she gets very touchy if anyone touches her tail area. For a few years we suspected that she had been abused in the wrong sort of way. Last year an x-ray showed she has an airgun pellet lodged in the top of her tail..... that would explain why she is bottom shy!!!!)

Dogs, once taken out of the wild become pets. They are the responsibility of the owner. If you have a problem with a dog, talk to the owner about it. Suggest they establish a sandbox for poop and pee; buy the dog a anti-bark collar for the next special occasion. But don't blame the dogs!!!

[Dream In Blue]

Yes I have a yorkie (on a boat)
Yes she is my dog-child (thanks to cancer at age 31 human ones are out of the question. I'm allergic to kids anyway)
No she does not bark constantly
Yes she barks at local boats too close to ours
Yes she barks when it sprinkles to let us know to close the hatches.
No she does not bark at everything passing by.
No she does not defecate or urinate near people
Yes I clean up after her.
Yes I am biased because I work in the veterinary industry
Yes I TRAINED my dog to behave
Yes we also sailed with a 100 pound lab (RIP)
No it was not cruel
Yes I respect ones decision to not owning a pet
Yes I understand why people get upset over dirty, ill behaved pets
No I do not think it's fair to judge many by a few... regardless.