You've Been Appointed Ambassador of Dogville

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2009-12-03 11:00:00 UTC
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If you have a dog, you are an ambassador. This might not be news to you if you have a breed that doesn’t have the best reputation, since you’ve likely been on the receiving end of dirty looks or comments like “Your dog is different.” But whether you own a purse-sized Chihuahua, a Heinz 57 mix of dog breeds, the friendliest retriever in the world, or Lassie, you’re being watched.

You may not have signed up for it, but you’re an advocate every time you and your dog leave the house. It’s easy to tell where people stand when they grin at you like the sight of your dog is the happiest thing since Christmas, or when they can barely contain themselves from dropping to their knees and offering up their faces for licking. It’s everyone else you pass by that’s a mystery. Maybe they have a dog at home, but are too distracted to give yours the attention she deserves. Or maybe they’re afraid of dogs or hate them for no good reason.

“I don’t trust people who don’t like animals anyway,” you might think. That’s fine, but this is about much more than building your dog’s fan club. The anti-animal folks have votes that count the same as yours (maybe more, depending on who they know in small town politics). The only one who doesn’t get a say is your pet –- the one who suffers when new restrictions and bans are implemented in your community.

All of those laws and policies that restrict dog owners –- how many you can have, what kind you can have, whether you can take them out in public without a muzzle –- were created by people who could justify their prejudices against pets. Every time they see innocent festival-goers tangled in a flexi-lead, or hear mad barking in the vicinity of a park where children play, or are approached by a dog trotting down the sidewalk off-leash (allowed to run free because he mostly listens most of the time), it adds fuel to their pet-despising fires. In a human world, the animals don’t get the benefit of the doubt. One dog that violates society’s code can ruin it for everyone.

On the other hand, a well-trained dog –- polite, in control, and out of the way –- doesn’t offer much to rally against. You might even change a few minds.

So, while you’re taking action to shut down factory farms, save endangered species, and put an end to puppy mills, don’t forget to advocate for the animal in your living room by showing off his best behavior whenever you can.

Photo credit: Stephanie Feldstein

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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