I was just walking Mabel on this surprisingly warm day. Coming up Montague Street I saw three big burly men talking. One of them had a huge and cute puppy. The puppy saw Mabel and came over to say hello. Mabel was not sure what to think. I asked the guy what kind of dog it was; I thought it was a mastiff of some sort. He replied, gruffly, seemingly irritated by me with my fluffy Mabel, that it was a presa canario. That is all he said, barely acknowledging Mabel. I went on my way. There is another guy in the neighborhood with a full-grown presa canario. I steer clear of him and his dog ever since he said to me "my dog could eat yours in one bite." I was creeped out by this, and by the guy. He was one of those exaggerated macho guys, in his early 60s I suspect, who wears a black leather jacket and walks as if he had a football between his legs.
I am sure these guys see me with my poofy dog and think that Mabel and I are ridiculous. Did you know that presa canarios are the breed that mauled a woman in the hall of her apartment building in San Francisco a few years ago? Their owners were charged with murder.
2 comments:
There was an interesting article in the New Yorker a few weeks ago which you might have seen, about the many factors that come into play when a dog violently attacks a person. People who are drawn to having dogs that are known for being vicious are, well, people who want to have a vicious dog because of their own nature, and so they tend to train/reward those tendencies. They also tend to put the dog in situations where it's more likely to act on them (isolation, etc.) The article was written by Malcom Gladwell, who wrote "Blink" and "The Tipping Point" and I thought was really interesting.
It sounds like your experience with those dog owners supports this idea...
Vicious, insecure little men with big dogs - it's not uncommon; akin to little boss-man hiring a thuggish henchman to throw his weight around by proxy. "My dog could eat yours in one bite." What kind of inadequate tosser says something like that? I wouldn't let these people keep goldfish.
Post a Comment