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Mad Dogs and SCAdians
Jan. 23rd, 2009 03:02 pmI've always been afraid of dogs. As an adult I can stifle that fear for the most part. At one time it was phobic-level. Now it's simply an intense dislike that I've overcome with a few individual dogs. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
somejauntypolka's dog Seven, for example, is a rare dog that I like.
When I was very young (7 years old maybe) I was attacked by a dog. Neighbors down the street had dogs and they let them run wild. It was the 70's so this irresponsible behavior on the part of the dog's owner was not yet frowned upon. Much like sending your seven year old son down the block to the store to buy cigarettes unsupervised. Coincidentally this is what caused me to cross paths with a loose dog.
I have no conscious recollection of what happened, but my sister describes finding me (I was taking awhile to get back so the folks sent my siblings out to look for me). I was pinned up against a fence by a large (to a seven-year-old) dog, front paws to either side of my head. It was barking in my face and I was rigid with terror. About the only thing that went right with this encounter is that I wasn't physically injured. On the other hand, emotional injuries take a lot longer to heal.
I do remember other encounters with this dog. Generally it would circle me in the store's parking lot, where I would freeze stock still and wait for it to go away. Then I'd move slowly towards my destination (either home or the store) until it came back or I was far enough out of it's perceived territory that it would leave me alone.
If you've ever wondered why I get so angry at people who won't control their dogs, there's the root of it.
I've occasionally had jackasses tell me "oh, he would never hurt anyone" while there animal is jumping and barking at everyone. Once one of these dogs knocked me over. Pause for a moment and consider my adult height and mass and read that statement over. Another time I got bit. Note that I don't go around provoking dogs, my dislike/phobia simply communicates to the dog in some way that I'm prey. Or at least that's my BS rational for my unluckiness with dogs. Maybe it is just unluckiness.
Which brings us to a recent SCA event. Someone brought a dog to an indoor event. The person in question grew up with dogs, so has a completely different perspective on them.
Since I'm in a position to actually do something about it I decided to bring it up at council this week. I proposed a no-pets policy at indoor events. There was some discussion about whether we could institute such a policy at all, but we decided that, while we couldn't relax actual laws concerning pets, it was certainly within our ability to put greater restrictions on them. The new policy is basically "no animals at indoor events except for service animals". There were several pet owners at the meeting who have brought their dogs in the past. It should be noted that, while they didn't like the policy, they didn't stand in its way either. The vote was basically most-for, a-handful-against and a few abstentions.
Incidentally it came to light during the meeting that the hall already had a no-pets-allowed rule and we were in violation of it. The mysterious "they" had gotten it wrong. In light of this, we probably didn't need the rule (I imagine most halls have similar policies regarding pets and they take precedence over our group's bylaws. We've always had a Hobson's Choice when it comes to renting halls.) However, I personally want the rule and I'm glad we passed it. You can call me selfish, but honestly, it's not like I was going to stamp my feet and hold my breath if it didn't pass. I'd have likely shrugged my shoulders and moved on to the next topic.
somejauntypolka's dog Seven, for example, is a rare dog that I like.When I was very young (7 years old maybe) I was attacked by a dog. Neighbors down the street had dogs and they let them run wild. It was the 70's so this irresponsible behavior on the part of the dog's owner was not yet frowned upon. Much like sending your seven year old son down the block to the store to buy cigarettes unsupervised. Coincidentally this is what caused me to cross paths with a loose dog.
I have no conscious recollection of what happened, but my sister describes finding me (I was taking awhile to get back so the folks sent my siblings out to look for me). I was pinned up against a fence by a large (to a seven-year-old) dog, front paws to either side of my head. It was barking in my face and I was rigid with terror. About the only thing that went right with this encounter is that I wasn't physically injured. On the other hand, emotional injuries take a lot longer to heal.
I do remember other encounters with this dog. Generally it would circle me in the store's parking lot, where I would freeze stock still and wait for it to go away. Then I'd move slowly towards my destination (either home or the store) until it came back or I was far enough out of it's perceived territory that it would leave me alone.
If you've ever wondered why I get so angry at people who won't control their dogs, there's the root of it.
I've occasionally had jackasses tell me "oh, he would never hurt anyone" while there animal is jumping and barking at everyone. Once one of these dogs knocked me over. Pause for a moment and consider my adult height and mass and read that statement over. Another time I got bit. Note that I don't go around provoking dogs, my dislike/phobia simply communicates to the dog in some way that I'm prey. Or at least that's my BS rational for my unluckiness with dogs. Maybe it is just unluckiness.
Which brings us to a recent SCA event. Someone brought a dog to an indoor event. The person in question grew up with dogs, so has a completely different perspective on them.
Me: "Did you ask to see if it was OK to bring a dog in here."I have no idea who "they" were. To her credit the dog did seem to be completely docile and there were no issues with it. It was under control at all times. However, I kept seeing it around and every time I thought about my negative experiences with dogs in general. I thought about all the children around the event. I thought about me as a child. I couldn't let it sit the way I left it so I talked to her again.
Her: "Yes, they said it was OK."
Me: "Hrmm."
Me: "I know you checked to see it it was OK, but in the future it would be better if you left the dog at home. Expecting other people to have to deal with your animal is kind of rude."The dog vanished after that, which was not my intent, though I was still relieved.
Her: "I understand."
Since I'm in a position to actually do something about it I decided to bring it up at council this week. I proposed a no-pets policy at indoor events. There was some discussion about whether we could institute such a policy at all, but we decided that, while we couldn't relax actual laws concerning pets, it was certainly within our ability to put greater restrictions on them. The new policy is basically "no animals at indoor events except for service animals". There were several pet owners at the meeting who have brought their dogs in the past. It should be noted that, while they didn't like the policy, they didn't stand in its way either. The vote was basically most-for, a-handful-against and a few abstentions.
Incidentally it came to light during the meeting that the hall already had a no-pets-allowed rule and we were in violation of it. The mysterious "they" had gotten it wrong. In light of this, we probably didn't need the rule (I imagine most halls have similar policies regarding pets and they take precedence over our group's bylaws. We've always had a Hobson's Choice when it comes to renting halls.) However, I personally want the rule and I'm glad we passed it. You can call me selfish, but honestly, it's not like I was going to stamp my feet and hold my breath if it didn't pass. I'd have likely shrugged my shoulders and moved on to the next topic.
