Help a dog, make an enemy.

Today I had an interesting experience, one I hope is not very common. I happen to walk outside early this morning just in time to see a young boy running with his dog. At first I smiled thinking this is really good. What I saw next was rather disturbing to me.

Obviously the dog was not doing what the boy wanted, not that any attempt was being made to let the dog know what was actually wanted. So the boy decided to hit and kick the dog, not once but several times. I was not the only one to see this behaviour, another person saw it happening again a bit further down the road.

Once I had confirmed who the boy was I decided to pay the parents a visit. I’m not sure if this really was the right thing t do but I couldn’t do nothing.

I was rather surprised to find a parent who really didn’t care too much, in fact was defending their son’s actions as he blatantly lied to the parent saying he never did anything. He did quickly change his story slightly to admit hitting and then kicking the dog just once. Still nothing from the parent!

I strongly expressed my dissatisfaction about this behaviour and even offered to teach the boy correct behaviour and how to train the dog, no charge. Once again nothing.

If this is the behaviour being taught to children these days, then some parents really should be ashamed of themselves.

I live in a small town where confronting others can be frowned upon. I have no doubt I am now not a person that is liked by the parent in question and in turn their partner. Do I care? No, of course not. Hopefully common sense will prevail and the parents will do something about this situation. But will they? I doubt it.

I would do this again tomorrow if the same situation arose. I hope I never again have to stand up for a dog being treated this way but in reality I know it won’t be the last time.

How would you react if you were in my position?