Walkies

The other day I was walking my two Shih Tzu past the outdoor playground of a local child care center. As always the toddlers became excited when they saw the dogs, and they momentarily stopped paying attention to their teacher. Imagine my shock when the teacher yelled to me “Bring those dogs in here and let’ em loose after these kids! That’ll teach em…”

My reaction was a rapid and instinctual flashback to my own youth when my first introduction to a dog was a fearful one that tainted my life for nearly 50 years. I immediately walked over to the fence and calmly but loudly said to the teacher “No, making little children afraid is not what my dogs, or any dogs, are for. I do not want any of these children to be afraid of my dogs or any dogs. That is NOT the message they should be getting about dogs. You need to find a positive way to get them to pay attention to you that doesn’t involve fear!”

Actually I had to restrain myself from reporting her immediately to her supervisor. I didn’t do so because I made a judgment that her instant apology was enough, and the incident was not worth her losing her job over, not in these times. But I was outraged.

My nearly lifetime fear of dogs was generated by my father bringing home a dog one night. We kids were asleep. I suspect Dad may have had one too many that evening. I met the dog when my Dad woke me by putting the dog’s face next to mine on the pillow. The room was dark, the dog was too, and all I saw were big strange eyes and huge, sharp, white teeth. I remember screaming. Can you say trauma? From that moment (I think I was about 5 or 6) until I was 53 years old, I never got within meeting distance of a dog for any reason. I even let my own fear prevent my daughter from having a dog when she was growing up!

Nacho

When I reflect today how much my dogs mean to me, and the decades of needless fear I experienced, I get angry all over again. Ironically, it was my daughter who helped me overcome my fears by her adopting a dog and making it clear to me that the dog was going NOWHERE. I had a choice to make, and with her gentle help and the endearing scrappiness of her cairn terrier Nacho, I not only overcame my fears, but became a dog lover and dog owner determined to learn and love all I could about dogs.

It’s important that as we introduce children to our pets we do so with respect for both the children and the dogs. These introductions are indeed teachable moments that can last a lifetime, or as in my case, nearly a lifetime. As adults we have a responsibility to remember that.

Tags: children and dogs, kids