So I don't like dogs. you all should know that. they are fine from a distance but only if they don't bark or make lots of sudden movement..even if its playful. Once I get to know a dog..takes a long time, then its not so bad. but in general we are not friends. well there is an enfestation in my naiborhood of bit bulls. I know one of my sisters has one that they all say would never hurt anyone. but that does not make me trust them. Once when they were visiting, something upset this dog and devin was right in the middle of it all, and I did not feel he was safe.(this is not soposed to be about your dog katey, and I mean no harm to you b this post.) especially the toughest kinds. a pit bulls bite is one of the strongest. a guy in our naiborhood had to kill one last year to get it to release its bite. it bit its owner. any who, recently I have seen not one, or two or three or even four pit bulls running free or chasing someone on my street...but FIVE different ones. in about a month. THESE dogs are NOT nice. They all belong to a bunch of thugs, who in my oppinion want a mean tough dog to make up for the lack of something. they trian them to be as mean as possible. well I daught that they train them, Its proboboly more like beat them and fight them with other dogs. reguardless its illigal for them not to be on a leash. only one of those times have I seen an owner trying to catch it. I call animal control, and by the time they get here the dog has wandered off some place else. so they don't catch it. rrrg! it makes me so mad. Try explaining to a two year old that the doggy chasing a boy on a scooter down the middle of the street is not nice and will you please walk calmly and quickly to the back yard. then when the dog stops chasing said boy and turns to come back up the street towards our house, she porceedes to scream at the top of her lungs, because I have starting dragging her because she would not go inside, because she wanted to see the doggy, attracting its attention. Oh and the one where the owner was looking for it. he would not even get close to his own dog because it snipped at him. all of this only solidifys my fears.
then two weeks ago a friend who had just moved into a new place felt something crawling on him...he looks down and its a black widow! yup! if there is anything that creeps me out more then dogs its spiders! so a was sitting on the lawn at my inlaws last night and someone says "its a black widow." it was dusk and so they got the flash light, and sure enough right where the house meets the driveway, there was this huge spider web and in it....a black widow. creepy! the only qustion i have is this...is the hour glass shape always on the underside of the belly or is it sometims on the top? I am pretty sure this was on the top. still....i am paranoid and freaked out.
3 comments:
Tali, you are right to be worried about dogs running loose, especially ones that are KNOWN to be kept by folks to want them to be mean. It was Rottweilers for a while... now it's pitts... bred by "backyard breeders" (AKA puppy mills) who don;t give a darn about anything but making a quick buck. they don't "breed" in a proper sense, knowing the sire and dam... For that matter pretty much ANY dogs, in a pack will begin to act like pack animals and that is an issue that you need to talk to animal control about -- beyond just calling when you see a dog loose.
RESPONSIBLE dog owners -- of any breed -- will keep their animal at home, in a yard or walking on a leash. RESPONSIBLE dog owners don't keep animals they can not get closed to, not even the "junkyard dog" for protection... they are trained.
That being said, I hope you can find "good dogs" -- calm ones that know and like kids -- for the girls to get to know and play with from time to time, so as to not pass along your phobia. And that will help you to be able to eventually teach them "good doggie" from "unknown doggie"... and just like human strangers, one must not go up to strange dogs.
As far as black widow spiders go, I believe they always have their marking on the underside, but perhaps she was standing under her web rather than on top of it... I am betting you did not get close enough to look well enough to tell! There are other spiders, though, that have colored marking -- on top as well I believe -- in an attempt to emulate the black widow and scare of predators. I remember seeing one HUZGE one with a web between a window and bush at a house my boss was hired to sell... Her marking was yellow, and on top.
It sounds like there may be a dog fighting ring in your area, for there to be that many running and chasing and being mean. I've known lots of pit-bull and rottweiler owners who say that their dogs are perfectly nice, and wouldn't hurt a flea. Until their base breeding comes out, (just as it does in our Labs from time to time, but their base breading is to hunt fowl) and they rip some kid's face off. I'm with you on the not trusting those breeds, and I love dogs.
I would highly recommend that you contact animal control and have them investigate further than just trying to chase down a stray. As you said, dog fighting is illegal, and in April Utah legislators signed a bill making cruelty to animals a felony. Which dog fighting, or even just raising dogs to be mean would fall under.
I'm glad that the girls got to spend some time with Kody and Aida, even though their jumpyness does scare Lily (and you, for that matter, and I'm sorry!) It was very cute to see them obey her when she gave them commands. Without us even prompting her or them! Amazing.
And the spiders, yeah. Ick. I'm SO glad that we "know a guy" to deal with our infestation of hobo spiders! I don't know what I would have done otherwise!
Dogs: There are catalogs or sporting goods stores where you can buy air horns powered by compressed air, the kind that advertise, "Can be heard for 1/4 mile." As a bike rider, I used to get chased by dogs all the time, until I got one of these horns, and started letting them have it right in the ear. They ran away and NEVER chased me again! It works, because a) it does hurt the dog's ear; and b) dogs decide "pecking order" based partly on who can bark the loudest. A sudden, loud "bark" that can be heard 1/4 mile away means, "I'm the boss dog, and you'd BETTER leave me alone!" Best part is, it leaves no permanent injury, and is not cruel to the animal, and it's safe to use around children.
Spiders: Jj's right about black widows and their imitators. You can also be aware of their habitat. Black widows prefer to spin their webs in secluded places like wood piles, not usually out in the open, like other spiders.
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