Tonight was the "Adopt a Vet in Louisana" slide show that was over at the PawPlex in Dartmouth where the vet that was helped out last year after hurricane Katrina by a bunch of local people was here in Halifax vacationing for free gave a slide show outlining what happened down in his area after the hurricane and how the money we gave him helped out.
When I got the invitation to go I emailed one of the organizers asking if the event was going to be dog friendly because I didn't see any reason why it wouldn't be. The building is the PawPlex - a building that exists solely for dog functions; the event was to talk about animal type things, it was only generally going to have animal lovers there.
The reasons I was given were - "We discussed your question but decided it would be best to have a people-only event due to the large number of people (which won't all be from the animal community) that we are expecting and because of the food that
will be there."
That to me is not an acceptable answer. And I will explain to you why. But first I am going to tell you that I am not entirely a normal dog person. I don't know if I belong to a niche community, I'm a visionary, or I'm crazy - but I believe that the world could be different than it currently is - and it could be different, and much more pleasant - very easily. I don't know if it's because no one has thought about it, or if it's because no one wants to live like this - but I personally can't think of living any other way - so when I see road blocks put up to living this way for no good reason - I have to point it out. I can't help it.
The thing is - not everyone going to this function would want to bring their dog with them. I liken it to having 2 year old children - I talk about it on one of the web pages of my Charlie loves halifax pages - but a lot of people love their dogs - but they don't want to take their dogs with them everywhere, and a lot of dogs can't handle going everywhere, and can't handle all situations - like a dog can handle going to the park, but can't handle building supply stores - he can handle the corner convenience store - but he can't handle the pet store. But if you think of all the 2 year olds there are in the city and how many people there were who were going to this function tonight who HAVE 2 year olds - not everyone is going to BRING their 2 year olds with them. But SOME people are going to want to bring their children with them tonight.
Once again I'll say - I'm not bringing my dog because I want him to play with other dogs at the event - I want him there as my companion - hell, Buttercup's feet probably wouldn't touch the floor once.
So it's this philosophy - this philosophy where dogs are our companions and we want them to be with us - that even dog people just don't seem to understand. And it really baffles me. What does food being at the event have to do with anything? And people not from the dog community have to do with anything?
I was so disappointed when I got that email saying that the event wasn't going to be dog-friendly. I had been looking forward to going and hearing the vet talk about the aftermath of the hurricane because I had followed the animal related news stories so closely - especially the horrors of the chained dog stories. and especially the aftermath stories
But I am nothing if not political, so instead I took a nice long walk in the woods with the dogs - which is who I want to be spending my time with. Period. Life is very short. I'm sure the vet from Louisiana will tell you that.
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