stereotype against rottweiler

[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! :)

[cheekydelight]

That really sucks... hope he gets well again soon !

[QuietDaze]

I will always maintain that some people are just a waste of good oxygen. I hope your boy feels better and I'm sorry you had to deal with such nonsense. Even the 'good samaritan' who thought your dog was abused is clueless. I've never seen an abused dog shaved in just one area - usually that indicates to me a surgical procedure. Signs of a dog being taken care of.

Some people are jerks - can't live with em and can't beat em down....

[stale]

Originally Posted by QuietDaze

I will always maintain that some people are just a waste of good oxygen. I hope your boy feels better and I'm sorry you had to deal with such nonsense. Even the 'good samaritan' who thought your dog was abused is clueless. I've never seen an abused dog shaved in just one area - usually that indicates to me a surgical procedure. Signs of a dog being taken care of.

Some people are jerks - can't live with em and can't beat em down....

thought it was "some folks are like slinkies - not really good for anything, but they bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs"

[moondog]

Originally Posted by Gome

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!

People figure out some things very quickly.....such as... if you "think" you need a cop fast, tell them you see a gun. If you "think" you need animal control fast, tell them the dog is ready to attack.

Originally Posted by Gome

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.

And then there are people who can't figure out some things for the life of them.....a sure sign of ignorance. They couldn't figure out if a dog was friendly any better than they can fight their way out of a paper bag. All you can do is shake your head and smile in sympathy....otherwise it'll just make you crazy.

Originally Posted by Gome

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.

Luna went through this "starvation" phase with her intestinal disease. She really did look like she was abused at the time, so I couldn't really blame people for wondering.....once I explained it to them, they left with a better understanding that not all things are what they seem.

Originally Posted by stale

thought it was "some folks are like slinkies - not really good for anything, but they bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs"

Hahahaha! And I do love a good slinky.

[rottcrazed]

And personally, this is just me, but I haven't seen a stray or abused dog recently with shaved spots on them from a very recent vet visit ..... seriously, you likely spent more on those tests and ultrasounds than the person that called A/C has spent on their pets in years ....

I am sorry you went through that.

Kristi

[cocopuffs]

What kind of dog owner are you where you would leave your dog tied up on the side of the street. You bet somebody called animal control on you. And the biggest question of all If your dog is so well behaved why didn't you just take him inside with you.

[tla0126]

They obviously had an eye on him, they saw animal control right when they pulled up...

[TrinaJ]

Originally Posted by cocopuffs

What kind of dog owner are you where you would leave your dog tied up on the side of the street. You bet somebody called animal control on you. And the biggest question of all If your dog is so well behaved why didn't you just take him inside with you.

The OP actually said in his/her post that the dog didn't go inside because it was a clothing store, perhaps the Manager doesn't like dogs in the store, regardless of the behaviour of the dog. In Australia we cant take animals into ANY shops unless they are 'seeing eye dogs'.

[jlhnokc]

Originally Posted by stale

thought it was "some folks are like slinkies - not really good for anything, but they bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs"

Now that is hiliarious!!! I'm going to have to use that one!!!

[Wolfram]

I have to side with the poster asking the question about leaving your dog tied up outside alone. It is bad form when they are compelety healthy let alone sick and therefore not necessarily in the greatest of moods.

We all know how the public reacts to our dogs already. What sort of reaction did you really expect to get from people when seeing a big dog left alone outside. They are not mind readers.

They do not know the history of your dog. They do not know you, your vet, your dog's history and probably did not get close enough to see the be-jeweled collar which coould also have meant that the 'abandoned' dog used to belong to a wealthy person before they became too much trouble.

You assume that people will take the time to analyze your dogs situation with care.

I own a Rottie and would have taken an extra moment to check out the situation, but you do not get that response from the rest of the world.

What would have happened if your Rottie would have slipped the lead or someone wouls have approached him? You were nowhere around to prevent anthing from happening.

I would venture to guess that the in my own situation, I would simply have not gone into a store that my dog was not allowed, or I would have motioned to have my friend come outside. I would have NEVER left my dog tied up alone in a public area and expect anything less than what happened to you or worse...

[Barrie]

Originally Posted by Wolfram

I have to side with the poster asking the question about leaving your dog tied up outside alone. It is bad form when they are compelety healthy let alone sick and therefore not necessarily in the greatest of moods.

We all know how the public reacts to our dogs already. What sort of reaction did you really expect to get from people when seeing a big dog left alone outside. They are not mind readers.

They do not know the history of your dog. They do not know you, your vet, your dog's history and probably did not get close enough to see the be-jeweled collar which coould also have meant that the 'abandoned' dog used to belong to a wealthy person before they became too much trouble.

You assume that people will take the time to analyze your dogs situation with care.

I own a Rottie and would have taken an extra moment to check out the situation, but you do not get that response from the rest of the world.

What would have happened if your Rottie would have slipped the lead or someone wouls have approached him? You were nowhere around to prevent anthing from happening.

I would venture to guess that the in my own situation, I would simply have not gone into a store that my dog was not allowed, or I would have motioned to have my friend come outside. I would have NEVER left my dog tied up alone in a public area and expect anything less than what happened to you or worse...

Well said, I fully agree! The only time I bring my dog along, is when my intention is to be with him. If I know I will be paying a social visit or require to make a stop that will take my attention away from him, well then, he will need to stay home.

Around here there are only two attitudes toward this breed: hate and love. The ones who hate him want him dead, the ones who love him just want him. Either way, I'm not leaving him alone.

Just recently there was a story of a dog walker who stopped at Starbucks for a coffee and tied the dog she was walking right in front of the store and the dog got stolen within minutes!

I love my dog far too much to take ANY chances.

And yes, people who don't own dogs might have actually thought the pup was abused and was probably trying to help. Even if they do own dogs, they might not be acquainted with medical procedures (I've never had to have an ultrasound on mine, so I didn't know they get shaved) The last thing I look at when I encounter a dog on the street is the collar (and I own two of them!)

So I honestly don't think this particular instance had anything to do with stereotypes against rottweiler.

But then again, I wasn't there to assess the situation, so I'll have to give the benefit of a doubt.