My dog is currently having a grass allergy flare up that's giving her a nasty cough, so I took her to the vet to have her skin/throat looked at. We went to the park afterwards and relaxed before it got too hot.
An older man, very clearly already irate, approached us and asked what her breed is. She's a rescue, so my answer is always, "American pitbull terrier mixed with something. We think shepherd." I always say it with a smile and try to be as warm as possible to avoid people thinking we're mean.
He then told me that I shouldn't have brought her to a park where there's children because she will bite one of them. She's a registered therapy dog that I trained myself. There isn't a more friendly, loving, well-balanced animal on this planet. Yet this man really had it in for her...so much so that he left his own child unattended at a public park in a bad neighborhood to berate me about my leashed, friendly dog being a public threat.
Is it ethical to muzzle humans against their will?
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SW-User
Fear controls people sometimes. 🤷♀️ He was acting on instinct, thinking he was protecting kids. Whether there really was a threat to them or not, his reaction was based on caring.
(Off topic, but I have that same kind of leash for my dog. MUCH better than the standard leashes)
@SW-User But if I had my small terrier with me, who does have a bite history with children (not under my care; she's also a rescue), would he have cared so much then? Of course not. He didn't care that I had a dog with me. He cared that I had a [i]pitbull[/i]. This kind of ignorance is dangerous and shouldn't be excused.
SW-User
@BigAssLeech A small dog isn't perceived as as much of a threat because they're small. Same with people. The smaller people are, the less of a danger they're assumed to be. It's easy to understand their reasoning even if you don't agree with them.
