Mad Dogs and SCAdians

[jamesq]

I'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. 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."
Her: "Yes, they said it was OK."
Me: "Hrmm."

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.

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."
Her: "I understand."

The dog vanished after that, which was not my intent, though I was still relieved.

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.

Comments

[petranef.livejournal.com]

I had a nasty dog experience when I was a kid too - chased and bitten. I was wary of dogs until very recently, so I sympathize with you. However, being afraid of all dogs is also taking a big and pleasant part of life away.... perhaps some controlled exposure to dogs might be in order? Such as volunteering to walk dogs at the Humane Society? They're all assessed by behaviorists and are "safe" to work with. Feel free to disregard my suggestion. It just makes me sad that you and dogs don't get along.

I still feel that away about birds and snakes, but in my new job, I have to get over that in a hurry. Plus, from my work at the clinic, lemme tell you - cats are much more dangerous and lot more scary! ;)

[wendy-licious.livejournal.com]

Just for the record, the question was not whether we *could* institute the policy but rather whether the policy was needed (i.e. whether it was redundant to the existing laws). Once it was pointed out (by Lianor I think) that food safety laws wouldn't cover events like tavern and practice where we don't usually have food served, this was cleared up.

[jamesq]

My phobia has long since subsided into mere dislike. I can be around dogs just fine and generally ignore them when they're in the proper venue.

[jamesq]

I was merely pointing out, with a personal example, why such restrictions might be desirable even when food hygiene is not an issue.

[petranef.livejournal.com]

Gotcha. It's a funny quirk of my mind though, that when I think about medieval events, I envision the hunting dogs lying beside the fire as an inevitable part of the scene. ;)

[oblivions.livejournal.com]

I'm concerned when people (who don't own pets) are making statements that it's an issue with a huge impact on our society, when there is only a handful of pet owners who bring there pets to events in one barony.

If affects so few so few events... *blinks a little lost*

[devoidofthought.livejournal.com]

I think an exception should be made for people with guidedogs. Not that I think anyone in the SCA requires one, but if they did, that sort of animal should be allowed.
I had a friend in high school who's father has Parkinson's. He had to fight very long and hard to allow his guidedog to accompany him. Also, those sorts of dogs are generally extremely well behaved.

For the record, I really dislike most dogs. They sense this and always want to jump on me :(

[devoidofthought.livejournal.com]

Excellent :)

[ladyerwyn.livejournal.com]

I agree, people who can't train and control their dogs should not have them. The same is true with people and children. If you can't afford to have them and train them, don't have them.

I'm a complete animal lover and am not afraid of any of them, but I am wary sometimes around dogs that have not been trained well like my sister's room mate. His mom bought him a dog and it's a big dog, but he hasn't trained it and when new people come over it jumps all over them. The dog is just excited and wants to meet you and everything, but it really freaks you out. I can handle the dog now 'cause I've learned that ignoring it and not looking at it causes the dog not to try jumping on me and getting all over me and then when it settles down I can pet her. She's a really sweet dog, but it's owner is lazy and won't take responsibility and train her.