A girl at work told us a dog had been killed at our local Petsmart by
another dog. I wanted to read about it so I did a Google search for
the article. What I found was so incredibly sad.

Apparently there've been several incidents countrywide of dogs turning
on other dogs in Petsmart and killing them. Though it could happen
anywhere (and after reading these stories I'm sure it probably has).
Any place people take their dogs... dog parks, beach, just a walk down
the street, the veterinarian.

Then there were all the stories of dogs being killed by groomers,
rough handling (that showed up in the same Google search). People
dropping off happy, healthy dogs and the dogs dying within hours of
the grooming. Veterinarians saying internal damage, rough handling,
etc. Groomers saying we had a little trouble with your dog, he was
overly wiggly.

Why would someone with such a nasty temperment even work with living
creatures? I guess it isn't just dogs, daycare, nursing homes, any
place where people are in charge of other people.

The whole thing make me so sad for humanity as a whole, to hear SO
MANY stories of it. What's wrong with people? How can there be so
many of them?

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wrote in message
...
A girl at work told us a dog had been killed at our local Petsmart by
another dog. I wanted to read about it so I did a Google search for
the article. What I found was so incredibly sad.

Apparently there've been several incidents countrywide of dogs turning
on other dogs in Petsmart and killing them. Though it could happen
anywhere (and after reading these stories I'm sure it probably has).
Any place people take their dogs... dog parks, beach, just a walk down
the street, the veterinarian.


The neighbor across the street has a dog that's a mix of a german
shepherd and some other shorthair that I forget - unfortunately, this
dog is kept indoors and not allowed to run off leash as much as
he needs to, and has what you probably would term some socialization
issues - not so much with people, but with other dogs. The neighbor
is retired and I personally have always wondered why he got this dog.

I've taken to inviting him to walk his dog - named Bruno - with me
and Ruby later in the evening to the schoolyard a block away, where we
can close all gates to the yard and let the dogs run. Ruby and Bruno get
along pretty well (despite her being half his size) and enjoy the time
running
around the schoolyard. We do this about once or twice a week.

A few days ago after about a half hour in the schoolyard we were getting
ready to leave - and along comes another dog owner with a german shepherd.

This dog saw Bruno and start snarling and barking through the fence before
the other owner even came though the gate. My neighbor had Bruno by the
collar when the other dog came through, and as soon as the owner shut the
gate he let the dog free - a minute or so later my neighbor let Bruno go.

You can probably guess the result - as soon as Bruno was let go he made a
beeline to the other dog and chased him back to the gate where they started
a big rip-roaring fight. I was half expecting this and as it started I ran
into the middle
of it and grabbed Bruno and dragged him off while the other owner got his
dog collared.
Fortunately it was quick enough that neither dog had gotten riled up enough
to see red and completely lose their senses.

So yes, it can happen any time - but I have to question that there aren't
warning
signs, I think in most cases there are, and owners aren't paying enough
attention
to them. And, I also think a lot of people don't react quickly enough when
they see a fight starting up. Sure, nobody wants to get bit or mauled - but
let's face it, a 200 pound adult man can take a 60 pound dog down espically
if
the dog isn't expecting it.

Then there were all the stories of dogs being killed by groomers,
rough handling (that showed up in the same Google search). People
dropping off happy, healthy dogs and the dogs dying within hours of
the grooming. Veterinarians saying internal damage, rough handling,
etc. Groomers saying we had a little trouble with your dog, he was
overly wiggly.

Why would someone with such a nasty temperment even work with living
creatures? I guess it isn't just dogs, daycare, nursing homes, any
place where people are in charge of other people.


I know it's tempting to believe the people that do this are nasty but
I don't think that is the real story. Here are some links for you to read:

http://www.prisonexp.org/

http://www.apa.org/topics/iraqiabuse.html

I think the real issue is at a dog groomer, you have the groomer who
essentially has complete and utter control over the animal, in a situation
where if they don't groom the animal, they don't get paid, and the
customer may also trash their reputation. It is not an optimal environment.

The prison studies I cited above show pretty clearly that most people
when put into a situation where they have the power of life and death over
other people, if strict oversight and a strong set of rules is provided,
the environment will cause the people in charge to act badly. I think the
situation is the same with animals. There's an old saying, absolute
power corrupts absolutely.

This is why the US Government was setup with a system of checks
and balances so that no one person has absolute power. Our Founding
Fathers didn't need prison studies to know this truth. There are few
people who are internally strong enough to resist a bad environment.

There are, of course, lessons here for anyone setting up a dog grooming
business - but I suspect, not many dog groomers are aware of them.

The whole thing make me so sad for humanity as a whole, to hear SO
MANY stories of it. What's wrong with people? How can there be so
many of them?


Well, keep in mind just how large the Internet really is. We are talking
millions upon millions of people. Statistically there's probably far, far
more
dogs hit and killed by cars every year than killed by mishandling at
groomers,
but someone who's dog got away from them and ran into traffic and got
killed, isn't likely going to go posting this on the Internet, whereas
someone
who has justifyable rights to be furious at a groomer - who essentially
charged them money to beat the crap out of their dog - is much more likely
to make a crusade out of the whole thing and post it everywhere.

Ted

Your first story reminded me a bit of the meeting between my aunt's
teacup poodle and our shepherd mix. The teacup poodle, Jessie, was
small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The shepherd mix, Gypsy
Rose, was about 70 lbs. Gypsy Rose is a mellow dog, good natured,
easy going. That tiny little Jessie actually had her cornered but
they became fast friends. What had me laughing was when Gypsy Rose
was standing up, her butt back against the couch and her very fluffy
tail laying across the sofa cushion. Jessie pounced on it like a cat
and held on. Gypsy Rose wagged it and Jessie hung on as it wagged
back and forth like an amusement park ride. If you want a life full
of laughter, get a dog!

Shari

---
Dogs and bears, sports and cars, and patriots t-shirts
http://www.villagetshirts.com
WlND0WS and MAClNT0SH shareware games
http://www.gypsyware.com