Humans,Dogs and Volleyballs
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By Peri Norman
It has been a difficult time for people from Belgians and other breeds recently. Early in May, an exhibitor was reported by her landlord, and when law enforcement entered the property a number of dogs were found dead by starvation with a couple of others emaciated, but clinging to life. Rescues stepped in and breeders took dogs back, but tragic and irreversible damage had been done. Sadly, this happens with remarkable frequency, leaving responsible owners and breeders to ponder the motivation and circumstances that contribute to these horrific situations.
In stark contrast, this post (written by his wife, Jen) on the Facebook page of Dallas Seavey, three-time winner of the Iditarod sled dog race, had me in tears of a different kind:
“Last Sunday, June 14th , a wall of fire charged across the spruce forests of Willow, Alaska, eventually scorching over 7,000 acres of mushing country. Home to hundreds of sled dogs, this is the premiere training location for the famous Iditarod. Mushers from across the globe live and train on the area’s trails. From recreational to professional, most living in the community have one thing in common. Dogs.
“Towers of flame driven by a north wind engulfed a 10 mile long corridor of neighborhoods within hours. The Sockeye Fire was out of control and exhibiting ‘extreme fire behavior.’ Residents scrambled to evacuate. Frantic facebook messages spread the word, ‘Need help loading dogs!!!’”
“Sled dogs are transported in ‘dog trucks’ and ‘dog trailers’ with compartments or ‘boxes’ for each dog. The dogs are hand walked from their tether to a box, lifted in and secured. Loading a kennel of 100 dogs can take more than a few minutes and a fleet of dog trucks.
“Friends, neighbors, and strangers in dog trucks rushed through the smoke towards the fire. Some residents arrived at their homes, the fire in sight, to find their dogs already loaded into trucks and ready to go. People chose to help, leaving their valuables and homes in the path of the fire to get the dogs to safety. They pulled off the impossible. Within a few hours the area was in flames, but not a single dog team was left to burn.”
The truth is that in the reality of our day to day lives, things are rarely this black or white. Dog sports, particularly activities like mushing, SAR work, and performance events like hunting and herding, frequently foster a bond between humans and dogs that is amazing and unfathomable to ordinary people. Many people have dogs that live well as a part of their families. They receive quality food and vet care and they are valued, albeit not with the rabid devotion of those of us who will run into the fire to save them. Other dogs are what I have heard termed “ambient” dogs; sort of in the background, but untrained and unnoticed except for (hopefully) daily feedings and maybe an occasional walk around the block. Beyond that we start dancing on the edge of what most of us would consider more worrisome than benign neglect; intermittent feeding, no social interaction and a virtual absence of appropriate veterinary care.
Please note that the line between good care and abuse has nothing to do with housing. Sled dogs are tethered (chained) and yet, clearly, their owners love them dearly and take their care and keeping very seriously. In some areas of the country, dogs live on dirt. We all love pictures with big green lawns and huge shade trees, but that is not a quality of life issue for a dog. They want to be a part of lives and spend time with us. Whether the ground under their feet is grass, dirt, gravel or something else is not relevant to their happiness. Those of us who love our arctic dogs cringe at the memes shouting, “If you love your dog, bring it in the house”. Also cringe-worthy are the sobbing individuals who thought it was okay to leave their precious toy dogs outside unattended and unprotected in a yard that backs up to Forest Service or other undeveloped land. It should be clearly understood that there is no magic number of dogs that is okay or not. The only criteria has to do with the resources, commitment and good sense of the individuals accepting responsibility for dogs in their care.
You do not need to spend much time at the dog show, obedience trial or agility trial before you realize that people in our world exist on this same spectrum. Bill McFadden is often quoted as saying that show dogs are just pets that get to go to dog shows. I believe that this is true in most cases. But I also have been saddened to hear stories of top winning dogs with multiple owners combining resources to finance show campaigns well into six figures, but once the dog is retired, none of the owners want it. I have been to facilities where dogs live at the training building in crates along the wall wearing bark collars. Warehousing of dogs is common enough to be considered “acceptable practice” by people in many breeds across venues. But when we consider this type of behavior as a point on a spectrum illustrated by the two situations above, then we can begin to take a more realistic look at how we care for our dogs.
When confronted with these types of behaviors on the part of owners, breeders and trainers, I have learned to ask this question, “Is it a dog or a volleyball?” Like dogs, volleyballs come in a range of prices based on perceived value. I found a Tachikara SV5W Gold Competition Premium Leather Volleyball on Amazon for over eighty bucks. That’s a lot of money for a ball! The voices in my head are mimicking the words, “That is a lot of money for a dog!” On the other hand, I also found a Water Sports Itza Mini 4” Volleyball for seven dollars. Clearly this is not a competition volleyball, but simply for enjoyment in your own backyard or maybe to take to the local park for the day. So what makes a volleyball worth $80? Well, I think that Gold Competition Premium Leather might be akin to MBIS, MBISS Gold Grand Champion. It helps you win more. The difference between a dog and volleyball is that a dog is a sentient being that has needs and desires. A volleyball, in contrast, does not require a bark collar, but will sit quietly on the closet shelf until you return.., or not. When the dog becomes just a tool to play the game, when the wins are more important than the dog’s health and well-being or when the dog or breeding program becomes the sole measure of our self-worth, then we are indeed in dangerous territory.
In addition to the obvious admonition that we all need to be mindful of the tremendous responsibility we accept for each and every animal in our care to provide for their physical, mental and emotional well-being, there are other things that we can do to help prevent some of these tragedies. The single most important one might be retraining our visceral response to hoarding/abuse cases. It is clear to many in health care and law enforcement that poor mental health plays a huge part in this type of abuse. My co-breeder and I have a saying, “People are more important than dogs.” This does not mean that we would intentionally sell any dog to an unfit home. It means that we are mindful that circumstances can change in the best of homes and at that point our job is to be kind and assist in any way possible. More often than we care to acknowledge, the best possible outcome for the dog(s) may be different than the best possible outcome for the people. In those cases, it behooves us to search for an outcome that is acceptable for both and quell the impulse to automatically advocate for what is best for the dog. For some people, the dog is their whole world and going the extra mile to keep those dogs with their person is a gift of insightfulness and love. It also means that those people who find themselves in over their head should be able to reach out to our community and find the support and the help they need. Long before Facebook and GoFundMe, there was a rescue of some Belgian Sheepdogs that was called the North Carolina Six. I was appalled at the hateful and abusive vitriol heaped on a person who clearly was challenged and needed help. Sadly, this type of angry shaming is made more conspicuous by the pervasiveness of social media. The stigma attached to asking for help has not changed, it has just grown wings. When we allow public shaming of people who have reached out for help in the same righteous voice that so often in retrospect says, “Why didn’t they ask someone for help?”, then we are not a part of the solution, we are a huge part of the problem.
Our sport is aging. Fairly frequently there are reminders to be sure that someone is assigned the responsibility of caring for our dogs should we become unable for any reason. In keeping with this thought, we need to be mindful of those at shows and competitions, as well as those no longer actively involved, to be sure that they are offered help if necessary and have someone they feel comfortable asking for help. We need to nurture relationships and attitudes that involve removing the stigma from being in over your head. Not because we are tacitly approving of situations involving less than stellar care of the dogs, but because we owe it to the dogs and the humans to prevent another train wreck if we can.
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Posted by ralbee
on Aug 13 2015. Filed under Current Articles, Editorial, Featured.
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