http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2008/10/16/dog_day_discussions Comments On: Dog Day Discussions by Matt Davis en-us Copyright 2009 Portland Mercury. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Portland Mercury readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Portland Mercury. webmaster@portlandmercury.com (Portland Mercury Webmaster) Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:01 -0800 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:15:00 -0800 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
I think I've made it plain that I'm trying, at least, to understand my African American neighbors' concerns. Understanding is a two-edged sword. The vicious-dog culture is NOT primarily a Caucasian/authoritarian culture at this point in our history, and anyone who is paying attention should understand that by now.

Personally, my own dog isn't off leash in public that often. When he is, he's heeling, or on sit-stay command, or easily placed in sit-stay if people are approaching. HE DOESN'T APPROACH STRANGERS, because I don't let him. (Didn't I say that already?)
Posted by Guffman]]> Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:40:19 -0700 Portland Mercury
How do people know your dog is under control? They don't know that. How does your dog know who does and who doesn't want him to approach? That may be something you assume he can do because you love our dog and you don't think your dog is a problem. But other people might think he's a problem simply because he's not on a leash and they don't know what to expect; maybe he follows them down the street, maybe he just stands there. I'm not saying ban dogs or even keep your dog on a leash. It's a free country and if you think people who are afraid of dogs should suck it up, that's fine. But if you want to meet your neighbors half-way (and I'm not saying you should have to get along with your neighbors, but it seems like you want to), you have to try to understand their concerns.
Posted by Skinny City Girl]]> Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:23:44 -0700 Portland Mercury
You might note from my previous post that strangers who don't know my dog don't HAVE to know my dog. It's not a question of "nice" or "not nice." It's a question of control. My dog is under perfect control. He doesn't approach people who don't want him to approach. No one needs to get to know & love my dog involuntarily, much less be bothered by him. It simply doesn't get to that point.

Yes, this IS an important discussion for neighbors to have with one another. If however you are going after any kind of ban on pet dogs because of (imaginary) concerns by a subsection of the community, you're simply barking up a nonexistent tree.
Posted by Guffman]]> Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:41:01 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Skinny City Girl]]> Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:14:35 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Guffman]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:57:33 -0700 Portland Mercury
I wanted to know what sort of dogs and what dog behavior is considered oppressive. Big/small dogs barking from inside fenced yards? Big/small dogs being walked on leashes and peeing on debree? Why do so many African-Americans have dogs if are considered by many African-Americans to be oppressive?

I think I'll go read the Sentinel.
Posted by ROM]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:55:19 -0700 Portland Mercury
When I moved into the Sabin neighborhood in 1990, I had a dog. i have had a dog most all my adult life. Sometimes 2 dogs. My dogs walk on leashes, go on walks everyday, and often go to off leash parks. They are vaccinated and licensed.
This neighborhood had a lot more African Americans in it when I moved in, and it also had a whole lot of dogs living in the yards of African Americans tied up on short chains, spending their lives outside, on that short chain, barking and lunging neurotically as I walked by with my dogs on leash. I never saw one of them off their chains.
It was a neurotic bark fest of chained dogs no matter which direction I walked from my house, for blocks and blocks. As the neighborhood gentrified, the chained dogs went away. I can not think of one that lives permanently outside in this neighborhood. I know a few sad dogs in St Johns tho, living in white folks yards.
Anyway, I like seeing people walking their dogs on leashes before and after work around the neighborhood. Most dogs are super well behaved. Most are treated with more respect than all of those chained dogs from awhile back.

I just cant get into the "remember the civil rights" mode. I mean,as the elderly person with the Auschwitz tattoo said to me in the old people's home when I was visiting my mother." What? That? That was a long time ago. It is a new day. Look it is sunny and the flowers are beautiful. There is a lot to be happy about."

MOVE PAST THE PAST AND LIVE IN THE PRESENT!.


Posted by v.renwick]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:27:18 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by LeashedUp]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:21:46 -0700 Portland Mercury
That must be pretty insulting for the five dog-owning couples in Portland that happen to meet that characterization."

Are you serious? Thanks for the unintentional hilarity. Of course, I take all my guidance relating to dog owners from DeNiro's character in "Meet the Parents."
Posted by jake]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:15:42 -0700 Portland Mercury
OK, see - here's me being sensitive with my big dog. Feel better now?
Is there anything that doesn't oppress or offend your widdle feewings?
Posted by D]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:41:03 -0700 Portland Mercury
As far as the actual story goes - I had no idea that this was an issue. Dogs pooping on other peoples lawns or barking at all hours I knew were issues - I never knew there were any potential racial implications. Learn something new every day!
Posted by divebarwife]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:38:01 -0700 Portland Mercury
Ahahaha, dog people sometimes bug me, but STFU. If Jewish people can somehow drag themselves out of their homes and past all the symbols of oppression, so can everybody else. Yeesh, get over yourselves.
Posted by Freshmaker]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:33:08 -0700 Portland Mercury
http://portlandsentinel.com/?q=node/2017

Dogs, especially big dogs that outdoorsy types like, are symbols of oppression. This isn't about how people treat their dogs, this is about how people treat their neighbors. We all need to be more sensitive about the (historically grounded) feelings of the people whose neighborhoods we're moving into.

FTR, I'm a white woman living in Arbor Lodge. I'm relatively new to dog ownership, but I know enough not to force my dog on people who are obviously apprehensive or downright scared of him.
Posted by LeashedUp]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:14:42 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Tootie]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:38:50 -0700 Portland Mercury
Whether a dog can be kept outside depends on the breed (and coat) of the dog, whether or not the dog has psychological issues, whether or not the dog has other dogs in the immediate family, your neighborhood, whether or not you have a fence, etc. I don't dispute that you know your dogs better than I do and that you are intelligent enough to make an informed decision about providing the best care for your dogs. I don't feel that way about some >95% of the people I've known that have pets. I don't know why I get called out by a fellow member of the <5% of people that know how to care for their animals because I believe we're actually on the same team here and should instead be arguing with those that pet owners that take their responsibilities too casually.

The dog in my family gets to spend all day, every day with his stay-at-home mother and doesn't have to worry about about being stuck in our apartment all day long (we live directly across the street from a dog park). In the cases where we're both going to be gone all day, he gets to spend the day at Noah's Arf.

Generally speaking, if you have an only dog, you don't want to segregate him or her from their family when you're home. This can be psychologically damaging.

Also generally speaking, most people aren't willing to live up to the commitment required of them to take proper care of their pet(s). One way to resolve this to is take the approach offered by another commenter ($5000 licenses), which would certainly weed out those who are "unwilling or incapable" of caring for their pets. However, I don't believe that pets should be solely the playthings of the rich, so I'm sure there is a compromise somewhere in-between $5k and nothing.
Posted by lostInPdx]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:00:03 -0700 Portland Mercury
Posted by Jack Acid]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:52:53 -0700 Portland Mercury
Twenty years ago I worked in a retail environment in a mixed-race neighborhood. There was an apartment complex with mostly African-American families living nearby, and the children would be in and out of the business all day. I was looking for some sort of Halloween treat to give the kids that would amuse them without involving candy. My dad was an old cowboy, and had showed me how to tie a hangman's noose. He explained to me at the time that "That's what happens to horse thieves," and that stealing a man's horse in those days was the only capital-offense crime not requiring a trial. My dad was NOT a racist, and no mention of lynching was made.

I thought they looked cool, so I cut up little pieces of string and started teaching the neighbor kids how to tie a hangman's noose. They loved it! I'd given out about half a dozen when an outraged mother came in, demanding to know what the fuck I was thinking?!

I explained like I just did above, but there was no consoling her. I felt bad, and have since learned about the scary "tradition" of lynching. It was certainly not my intent to start a racial firestorm at my job. I simply didn't know.

I now know better, and in hindsight I understand her outrage. Politically correct has never been my strong suit, and I apologized extensively. (Not to mention the ass-reaming I got when my boss heard about it.)

But dog ownership? If this is such a racial hot-button, what hasn't it been an issue the ignorant white man has heard about by now?

My dad also occasionally used a phrase, "Sticking around until the last dog is hung."

I never really thought about what *that* meant until the Michael Vick incident.
Posted by Unintentional Racist]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:50:17 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by D]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:32:05 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Freshmaker]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:28:01 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by tk.]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:22:42 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Freshmaker]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:14:51 -0700 Portland Mercury
We have two dogs - when we're not home - they are outside. They have a dog house, a covered patio, and a variety of trees and bushes to hide under away from the heat of the sun or the rain and chill. When we're home, we often bring them inside - but not always - sometimes we just go out and play with them for a while, then go back inside. They usually go back out overnight unless it's very cold or very hot.

They are very well loved and very well taken care of. In fact - they have a big yard to run and play in all day long when we're at work - not stuck inside your home all day long trying not to pee on the floor and wishing they could chase that squirrel they see out the window.
Posted by divebarwife]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:12:51 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by D]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:09:56 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Freshmaker]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:05:21 -0700 Portland Mercury
That's a pretty damned ignorant statement.

That must be pretty insulting for the five dog-owning couples in Portland that happen to meet that characterization.
Posted by lostInPdx]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:56:48 -0700 Portland Mercury