[Gome]

I've had my rottie for 8 years now so I've gotten used to the attitudes of some ignorant people towards him, but I was quite surprised at how fast animal control came to respond to a call about my "stray large rottweiler in public."

I went to visit my friend at her last day at work before maternity leave. I brought her flowers and tied my dog out front on a really busy downtown retail street. I didn't bring him in because it's a clothing store. We live right downtown on a large main street where there's always hundreds of people out on the sidewalk at any given time with retail stores and traffic and my dog is such a friendly streetwise urban city dog. Within literally 5 minutes of being at my friend's work, she points and says 'there's animal control.'

I run out and ask the guy what the problem is. He then tells me he got a phone call reporting a large aggressive abused rottweiler. I explained it was my dog. But I'm so surprised at how fast he came. You can't even call a cab that quickly! I'm p'd off at whoever called in the report.... and that people don't mind their own business. It's a busy retail street, he's wearing fancy designer jeweled collar and leash and a red bandanna...and has only been there for 5 minutes. Hardly abused.

My dog is really sick with inflammatory bowel disease and has lost a lot of weight. Ever since he's been sick I get nasty looks and random strangers on the street asking me if he's been abused. His chest and abdomen are shaved from the heart and intestinal ultrasound he had last month. And the steroid-based medicine he's on really slows down the rate at which his hair grows back. But people just point and stare at him and I wish they'd mind their own business. I love my dog and after spending $4000 on vet bills during the last month, I'm certainly not about to abandon him or abuse him now! :)