Of Dogs and Men

Recent developments in pet policies have sent landlords "howling," according to a June 26 New York Times article. Tenants have taken to insisting that their 70-pound black labradors or Berneses are as essential to their mental health as seeing dogs are for the blind. This goes hand in hand with a curious -- well, more curious than usual -- statistic in Harper's Index a few years ago:\nThe percentage of people that, when asked who they would choose to be forever stranded on a deserted island with, named their dog: 70.\nIt seems we are quite the nation of dog lovers. Don't believe me? Then look around Bloomington. \nOur town is essentially a dog lover's paradise. Puppies and their owners litter the streets in summer time. You see dogs everywhere. Some smuggled under a coffee shop or restaurant table outdoors, some trampling merrily through flower beds and over the warning signs that read, "No pets on flower beds," some ambling through the isles of Sahara Mart or one in particular lying placidly in a Kirkwood store to keep the owner company during the day. They have even been in the classroom, as evidenced by the laconic sign on the doors of SPEA that warns "No pets." \nThe words "health code violation" mean nothing to a dog-owner, and any suggestion that the presence of a dog is not appropriate at a given venue is taken as personal insult which brands the person who suggested it as a fascist, an animal hater and a generally worthless human being.\nBut on the whole, dogs and people coexist fairly peacefully in sunny Bloomington. \nThat is, except for one minor "bone" of contention: leashes. \nSome owners choose not to put leashes on their dogs out of whatever personal convictions they hold. Not leashing a dog can provoke situations ranging from awkward to dangerous. Even if a dog playfully charging at a passer-by might have the best intentions at heart, the other party may not always interpret it as such. Some people are morbidly afraid of large dogs and no amount of tail-wagging will erase the images of Cujo from their heads. Other people love dogs but refuse to acknowledge a wet nose in the crotch as an appropriate form of a greeting. Senior Brette Thompson said she doesn't mind unleashed dogs in the park if the owners are with them, so long as it is not "a big scary dog … you always hear about big dogs mauling little kids."\nFinally, there is the danger for the dog itself. Aside from the risk of being hit by a car, there is an issue of inconsiderate dog owners. Try dragging away your snarling puppy when it is determined to defend its personal space against any canine intruder. Sofia McDowell remembers when her leashed Rottweiller "Shorty" reacted threateningly to an unleashed dog and the other dog's owner tried to have Shorty put to sleep.\nIn the end, leashes are for dogs what clothes are for humans: a confining social necessity that is worn on the body for the benefit of the rest of the population. Both are restricting, and we would probably prefer to run around nude or leash-less. But unless we are in the privacy of our homes or on a huge ranch in Montana, that kind of behavior is out of the question, as we have the maintaining of social niceties to honor. \nBloomington is a very liberal town, as far as both dogs and humans are concerned, but we need to abide by certain rules in order to make our uneventful co-existence possible. So, be respectful to both your fellow puppies and humans. Keep your dog -- and your possible objections to it -- on a leash.\nAnd I, in turn, promise to keep my clothes on.