# Dumb animals, dumber people **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 17, 2001, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556 "2001-01-17T19:16:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/1 "2001-01-17T19:16:57Z")
I am just amazed at some people who own pets. Last night, while driving home, I pulled onto my street. It’s a dark street at 8 pm, and is covered with snow and ice. There are only a couple of streetlights. So I turned onto the street, and there was a dog standing in front of my car. I braked, and the antilocks kicked in, so I was able to avoid the dog, but ended up in a snow bank (no big deal). I got out of the car, and there was the dog’s owner, who lives in the house at the end of the street shoveling his walk. I said, “You know, it’s not a good idea to have your dogs running around in the middle of the street when it’s icy and dark. You almost had one less dog.” He mumbled something that sounded like “sorry.” My girlfriend, who was in the car with me, got out, pulled her entire 5-foot-3 frame up and said “You should take those dogs inside.” The onwer responded that he “couldn’t do that right now.” She replied, “We’re not moving from in front of your house until you do.” The owner stared at her for a second, and then brought his dogs inside. I was so proud of her. 🙂 In MPSIMS there is a [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=55982) about a guy whose dog was attacked and killed by another dog, which was let run by its owner. But I’m not sure it wasn’t an accident waiting to happen, as the OPer says: > [@](#): > > My family left on Monday morning around 9 am; at 9:15 I got a call from that neighbor, saying the dog had escaped. This isn’t terribly unusual, because beagles are born running dogs. Usually, he just runs around for a couple hours, then comes home. We’re always afraid he’s going to get hit by a car, but sometimes chasing him only makes it worse - he thinks it’s a game. Since no one would be there for a few hours and since our neighbor is an older man (and I didn’t want to worry him, either), I said not to bother looking for him. What the fuck is up with that? You don’t just let your dog run around. There are ways to train your dog to stay at home, and if you have a dog that needs lots of space and yuou can’t give it to him safely, maybe you shouldn’t have that breed of dog. (In fairness to the OPer, his dog was tied up at the time of the attack.) It just amazes me sometimes how people treat their animals. It horrifies me that these same people are considered responsible enough to have children, a much bigger deal. I understand that some people treat animals as chattel, and basically don’t care if they live or die. I think the time has come for those people to give up owning animals. Society has, I’d like to believe, evolved past that point. Thanks for letting me rant. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/2 "2001-01-17T19:49:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Necros \* > It just amazes me sometimes how people treat their animals. It horrifies me that these same people are considered responsible enough to have children, a much bigger deal. Not to detract from the OP, with which I agree 100%, but I’m picturing a government-mandated program for people who want to become parents. . . “Mr. & Mrs. Slackjaw, this is a goldfish. In two weeks a government agent will stop by your house and see that the tank is clean and the goldfish is healthy. Don’t even think of getting a new one at the pet store; we’ll be doing DNA tests. If you do a good job with the goldfish, in a year you will recieve a hamster, and the following year you may have a dog or a cat. After three years, we will _consider_ removing Mrs. Slackjaw’s Norplant, and reversing your vasectomy, Mr. Slackjaw. Enjoy your fish.” ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/3 "2001-01-17T22:06:21Z")
Well, as a civil libertarian, the idea makes me very uncomfortable. As a person living in the world today, it has a certain allure to it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tubagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b77776/32.png) [@tubagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tubagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/4 "2001-01-17T22:37:58Z")
I thinl this is defintly a matter that depends on situations. I have two little lap dogs (a shih-tzu and lhaso apso) that have free run outside. I live on a street with 15 houses on it about an acre apart. I let my dogs out the front door and they go where they wish. They come back within 15 minutes. Everyone in my neighborhood knows these dogs. They don’t destroy or bully anything. The kids in the neighborhood love them. no one goes speeding down the street because _not only could there be children_ in the street, there could also be dogs. I have never had a complaint from anyone about this. They stay out of the street most the time as well. To put forth a law against letting your dogs free in my area would be pointless. So before you decree how irresponsible it is to hve your dogs out and mandating laws against it. Think about who else it would effect. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/5 "2001-01-17T23:00:25Z")
Did I say anything about laws mandating keeping your dogs in? I don’t think I did, but maybe my fingers typed something while I wasn’t looking. If you want to let your dogs run around, that’s fine. But if I, tooling down a street at a safe speed, run over your dogs because you feel it’s prefectly fine for them to be running around without supervision, _shrug_ I guess thqat’s just something that happens, right? I dunno. I wouldn’t let a three-year-old run around the neighborhood without being watched just because “people know them.” But that’s just me. I definitely didn’t say anything about there being a law requiring compliance. I think that respect for the lives of those you love and who love you should be enough. ---
**Author:** ![tubagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b77776/32.png) [@tubagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tubagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/6 "2001-01-17T23:10:07Z")
So if your 6 year old is going to his friends house it OK for someone to run him over if they are going at a “safe speed?” I’m not saying that a dog is as important and a child, but I don’t think you would be as pissed if you screeched to a halt for a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Felice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Felice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Felice)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/7 "2001-01-17T23:18:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tubagirl \* > \*\*I thinl this is defintly a matter that depends on situations. I have two little lap dogs (a shih-tzu and lhaso apso) that have free run outside. I live on a street with 15 houses on it about an acre apart. I let my dogs out the front door and they go where they wish. They come back within 15 minutes. \*\* My parents’ neighbors had a similar policy. They have a chihuahua which they used to let run loose, because he was so little and smart that he posed no threat to anyone, and because there is very little traffic in that neighborhood. This chihuahua one day decided to attack my parents’ golden retriever, who was tied up in her own yard. The golden apparently decided the chihuahua was a misbehaving puppy, and being a responsible mother dog, she treated it accordingly - she picked it up by the scruff of the neck and shook it firmly. The chihuahua needed fifteen stitches. Its owners no longer let it run loose. ---
**Author:** ![Felice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Felice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Felice)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/8 "2001-01-17T23:21:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Podkayne \* > > “Mr. & Mrs. Slackjaw, this is a goldfish. In two weeks a government agent will stop by your house and see that the tank is clean and the goldfish is healthy. Don’t even think of getting a new one at the pet store; we’ll be doing DNA tests. If you do a good job with the goldfish, in a year you will recieve a hamster, and the following year you may have a dog or a cat. After three years, we will _consider_ removing Mrs. Slackjaw’s Norplant, and reversing your vasectomy, Mr. Slackjaw. Enjoy your fish.” I think this sounds like a marvelous plan. The ability to raise a goldfish (hamster, dog…) does not necessarily indicate the level of responsibility required to raise kids…but if you DON’T have even that much responsibility… ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/9 "2001-01-17T23:23:10Z")
If I was turning onto my street at night, in winter at 10 miles per hour, and had to screech to a stop because someone’s six-year-old was sitting in the middle of the street, I’d be even more pissed. I mean, if I hit a dog, it’s very, very sad for everyone involved, but it’s not exactly the same as running over a child. I obviously didn’t say, if you’ll re-read, that it was OK to run over dogs. I _didn’t_ run over the guy’s dogs. Doing something like that would be terrible. But I do think that, as a pet owner, you have a responsibility both to your pet and to other people on the road, who may care more about an animal’s life than you do, to keep them out of harm’s way. What is disagreeable about that? ---
**Author:** ![Felice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Felice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Felice)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/10 "2001-01-17T23:30:34Z")
People who drive with their dogs in the back of the pickups are my personal pet peeve. I don’t know how many times I have been walking down the street with my dogs (on leash, thank you very much - I _never_ let them run loose) and had them get into a barking argument with some dog in the back of a passing truck. I live in dread of the day that one of those dogs decides to jump out of the moving truck to continue the conversation - thereby, at least, breaking one or more legs, depending on how fast the pickup is going. How dumb do you have to be? ---
**Author:** ![DaveX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/96bed5/32.png) [@DaveX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveX)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/11 "2001-01-17T23:49:06Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m not saying that a dog is as important and a child I would propose changing that to “I’m not saying a child is as important as a dog”… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/12 "2001-01-17T23:49:19Z")
My dog is so very well trained…she will NOT leave the porch unless WE say it’s okay, or she has her leash on. We only let her loose in the back yard if we have company, or to come sit on the porch swing. Other than that, she STAYS ON THE PORCH. My aunt has a big lot of property, so her one dog can be allowed out without a leash. The other one can’t, because she runs off. Can I also say that people who let their cats roam around outside free at all times also piss me off? ---
**Author:** ![tubagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b77776/32.png) [@tubagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tubagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/13 "2001-01-17T23:50:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Necros \* > \*\* > > “You should take those dogs inside.” The onwer responded that he “couldn’t do that right now.” She replied, “We’re not moving from in front of your house until you do.” The owner stared at her for a second, and then brought his dogs inside. I was so proud of her. :)\*\* You were proud that you and she could intimidate a man so that he obeys your commands? Welcome to the U.S.A. , where people can tell you exactly what to do through intimidation. \*\* > [@](#): > > What the fuck is up with that? You don’t just let your dog run around. There are ways to train your dog to stay at home, and if you have a dog that needs lots of space and yuou can’t give it to him safely, maybe you shouldn’t have that breed of dog. > \*\* I do let my dogs run around. They are trained to stay near the house. Ocassionally they will go in the road and I’m damn glad you are careful enough not to run over them. (just a response to a “pit” thread :)) ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/14 "2001-01-18T01:43:27Z")
> [@](#): > > I do let my dogs run around. They are trained to stay near the house. Ocassionally they will go in the road and I’m damn glad you are careful enough not to run over them. The only thing that concerns me about this is that the threats to your dog are not solely vehicular. Your dog could be attacked by a wandering stray, bitten by a wild animal, tormented by a kid visiting your neighbor, stolen, or eat something poisonous. There’s a million things that could happen to your dog out of the safety of your yard. As other posters have said, I wouldn’t leave a kid out wandering like that, neither would I leave my dog. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/15 "2001-01-18T02:22:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Necros \* > \*\* > If you want to let your dogs run around, that’s fine. But if I, tooling down a street at a safe speed, run over your dogs because you feel it’s prefectly fine for them to be running around without supervision, _shrug_ I guess thqat’s just something that happens, right? > > \*\* My feelings exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/16 "2001-01-18T03:08:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Felice \* > The ability to raise a goldfish (hamster, dog…) does not necessarily indicate the level of responsibility required to raise kids…but if you DON’T have even that much responsibility… > \*\* [glances guiltily towards algae-encrusted fish tanks] At least she didn’t mention guppies… [tosses a couple of moldy Big Macs in general direction of Goose children crying with hunger] Shaddap, you, I can’t hear the tee-vee… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/17 "2001-01-18T03:12:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tubagirl \* > You were proud that you and she could intimidate a man so that he obeys your commands? Welcome to the U.S.A. , where people can tell you exactly what to do through intimidation. Didn’t you read the OP? They were intimidated into screeching to a halt avoid hitting a dog. Why is it wrong to respond in kind? It’s not like they asked the guy perform some arbitrary action; they asked him to take care of a situation that engangered both his dog and other people. Another silly thing I see people doing is jaywalking with dogs on a leash. I mean, do you really think that you’ve trained your dog so well that there’s not risk of him jumping in front of a car? ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/18 "2001-01-18T16:01:01Z")
**tubagirl** said: > [@](#): > > You were proud that you and she could intimidate a man so that he obeys your commands? Welcome to the U.S.A., where people can tell you exactly what to do through intimidation. Oh for the love of God, **tubagirl** , welcome to the real world, where you live in a society and have to sometimes adjust your behavior in minute ways to accommodate the smooth workings of said society. It must be really a bummer for you every time you have to pay taxes because you’d prefer not to get hauled off to jail. If you feel that my calling attention to you because you’re acting like an asshole is intimidating, what can I say? Suck it up. If someone smacked your children with a two-by-four, I think you’d reserve the right to impose yourself into the situation to stop that action, wouldn’t you? C’mon. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/19 "2001-01-18T16:14:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Felice \* > People who drive with their dogs in the back of the pickups are my personal pet peeve. Ditto–plus, I hate people who drive around with their _kids_ in the back of the pickup. And I don’t mean bouncing along a country lane, neither–I’ve seen it on the interstate. The cops oughta pull 'em over and take the kids away, and give them to somebody who has the brains and the consideration to keep them from harm. (Same goes for dogs, too. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556/20 "2001-01-18T20:28:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DaveX \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > I’m not saying that a dog is as important and a child > > I would propose changing that to “I’m not saying a child is as important as a dog”… \*\* That’s sick & not funny. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-animals-dumber-people/50556.md?page=2)