Ignorant People Make Me Sad.

[Cheetah]

I was at work today (I work at Petsmart) and there was this lady doing some kind of rescue fund raiser thing, with the table set up and all that, and she had her dogs there with her - an American Eskimo, a Min Pin, and a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. All were well behaved, and just sitting there, with people greeting them etc.

I was over in the aquatics section getting a family some fish, and when I was done, they started walking down the aisle toward the cash register, but froze when they saw the dogs and the table at the other end. The husband was like "OMG, everyone go around, there are DOGS!"

Puzzled, I asked him what was wrong, and he replied, "I don't trust ANY dogs, they are all vicious and unpredictable." I told him I had two very well behaved dogs at home who have never hurt anyone, and in fact we are getting ready for the CGC test, and my corgi is going to be a therapy dog.

He wouldn't have any of it, and only repeated that all dogs are vicious. I told him it was a shame he felt that way, and asked if he'd had some sort of bad experience with a dog. He told me that there was some guard dog in a fence where he used to live who would go nuts at the sight of any humans on the other side. And that was it. >O.o<

I told him that dogs locked outside in fences with no human contact are normally aggressive, but then told him to have a good night since it was apparent that nothing I said was going to sway him.

It's just so sad that people think like that. It depressed me for the rest of the night. It makes me want to type up some informative leaflets to hand out to anyone who utters such nonsense. >-.-<

[Michael Romanos]

Cheetah - those are real ignorant people to your shop - what else did they expect anyway stepping into a pet shop that promotes dogs as customers. Ask them to bring their fish with them in future visits.
What you've experienced is nothing like the past two weeks in New Zealand with the papers and radio talkback and news full of dogs - Pit Bulls and the like. We have a high profile talk back host and radio commentator saying to shoot all Pit Bulls and Pit Biill-like dogs on sight - and he is a dog owner, another high flyer says to put all strayiing and dangerous dogs down - no questions asked. That is the type of atmosphere at present.

Meanwhile I took Taylor to the CBD in Upper Hutt today. UH us a very small city of 40,000 people. But you can take a dog to a lot of places despite prohibitive restrictions in the new indoor shopping mall. I took him into the indoor swimming complex and he got to be greeted and petted by a host of people and kids during a 20 minute wait, I left him outside a shoe shop when buying shoes for my son. The shop assistant made me bring Taylor into the store. We went to a pet shop mainly to buy hatchable flies for the frogs, and Taylor walked in. We went to the public library and Taylor was allowed inside the maIN doors. Thank goodness there is still some sensibilities left in the community.

[ColColt]

But you can take a dog to a lot of places despite prohibitive restrictions in the new indoor shopping mall. I took him into the indoor swimming complex and he got to be greeted and petted by a host of people and kids during a 20 minute wait, I left him outside a shoe shop when buying shoes for my son. The shop assistant made me bring Taylor into the store. We went to a pet shop mainly to buy hatchable flies for the frogs, and Taylor walked in. We went to the public library and Taylor was allowed inside the maIN doors. Thank goodness there is still some sensibilities left in the community.

I wish more places were like that here. That guy at Petsmart was a little bit of a wacko sounds to me. That's like me walking through the garden center of Sears and getting paranoid about lawn mowers being left out because I saw a frog get cut up with one of them when I was fifteen!! You can't trust mowers as they are unpredictable. They may go after your cat or squirrels in the yard as well. Some people....

[gemjunkie]

Why was this person in a pet store ESPECIALLY one where you can bring your dog in? Perhaps the stick he and his buddies had been teasing the dog with through the fence left a sliver? Some people should just STFU when they are in public period..

My brother was bitten by EVERY dog in the neighborhood as a child but now owns a dog.....

In instances like that, I just tell people it's your loss and walk off.

I also raise fish but get VERY upset when I go to some local pet shops that have employees tell people it's ok to have an oscar in a 20g, or a gold fish in a 10g tank & SURE get a common pleco to go in that 10g with the gold fish. Why do they do that? Because the manager says, fish are disposable income and they can sell a lot of products to help 'save' the fish even though they are doomed in such conditions....

SO... Just remember there is a LOT of misinformed people out there and some are just going to believe what they want even if you prove them wrong...

[Cheetah]

One of my friends said it was like not having fingers and walking into a craft store lmfao...

Originally Posted by gemjunkie

I also raise fish but get VERY upset when I go to some local pet shops that have employees tell people it's ok to have an oscar in a 20g, or a gold fish in a 10g tank & SURE get a common pleco to go in that 10g with the gold fish. Why do they do that? Because the manager says, fish are disposable income and they can sell a lot of products to help 'save' the fish even though they are doomed in such conditions....

Thank goodness our store isn't like that. My manager says I don't have to sell somebody a fish if they plan on keeping it in such conditions. I usually ask. 75% of the time, they plan on putting the goldfish in a bowl. >X.x;<

[Chip's Mom]

Cheetah:

Do you know what a goldfish's lifespan is? I bought 10 feeder goldfish for 10 cents each at Petsmart about 7 or 8 years ago and I am just now losing some. They had grown to full size. They live in my pond and winter there quite nicely.

[gemjunkie]

The life span of a 'feeder' gold fish can be upwards of 30yrs and get to be around a foot long.... Some koi are listed in the 100s, no lie...... Koi can get to be over a yard long!!!!

No it is NOT true that fish will only get as big as the tank you put them in either... IF they live and you keep up good conditions with regular water changes and feedings, they will outgrow the tank and possibly become cripled from lack of space. Most just die before they ever get there....


*hehehe Something I know alot about.. *

[Chip's Mom]

Thanks for the info. My pond needs a good cleaning and maybe that is the problem then. I can't keep the algae out of it. It's in direct sunlight outside and I think that is the problem. I haven't been able to find anything on the market that will clean it up either. I have a filter running all of the time.

[gemjunkie]

Bonnie,
I'll send an email, I know someone personally that owns a pond maintenance business here in town and I'll ask her. If you can get a culture of daphnia, that will help, they are filter feeders and eat that stuff and in turn IF the fish can catch them they'll eat them and they aren't some invasive species that will destroy the habitat if they get lose into the wild, they are everywhere. I'll get back to this thread in a couple days OR I'll PM ya.

[Cheetah]

Darn, I missed the question lmao...

Well luckily, no ignorant people today.

BUT I saw my first fluffy besides Shippo!!! It blew me away! I even got to give grooming advice!! >^____^<

[Michael Romanos]

When I kept goldfish, I had a real good size tank and lots of fun things for goldfish and very good systems in place. So I had real good goldfish (Black Mores etc)- up to show standard. Then we had our house pest (bugs etc) sprayed and though the gold fish were covered during the process, they slowiy died and it was because the pest control people had used a spray that was too strong - so powerful that the effects of the spray lasted over two years when it should have been for a 12 month period. We certainly got our money's worth but at the expense of the goldfish. I never did replace them and I eventually sold the tank and the stand. One of the goldfish I had use to follow me around. He would go from one end of the tank to the other in keeping up with me, with his big goggle eyes looking straight into mine.

[Bayoucorgi]

I just sent my husband and son to my pastor's house with a crock of home-cooked spaghetti, bread, salad and drinks. We're just trying to bolster their family because their almost 3-year-old son was attacked and bitten in the face by a dog Friday night. Our pastor, his wife, and three children were meeting other family members at a Bed and Breakfast in the Texas Hill Country. The children were petting a pet deer and the youngest walked up to a Labrador who belonged to the B&B owner. It showed no sign of aggression before or after the incident. The dog was lying down and when the boy walked up to the dog saying, "hi doggy", it leapt up and bit him. The upper teeth punctured his nose and cheek and the bottom teeth went through his lip. They rushed him to emergency and he is on antibiotics. They did not stitch him due to risk of infection. The little guy is amazingly resilient. When we saw him last night he was laughing and playing and he knows the difference between his dogs and the "bad" dog. The dog is quarantined for rabies. Our sweet little friend may have to have plastic surgery depending how his wounds heal.

I am the staunchest "pro-dog" person. As you know I've trained, rehab-ed, done rescue. But as a mom, I am always wary. I have seen unstable dogs. I have seen mostly good dogs "snap". So I still tell my children to be very cautious around dogs they do not know. Unfortunately, some people don't "read" dogs well, and don't know when they are about to be bitten. Many times it is the person's fault they get bitten. Almost all the time it is due to a complacent, or ignorant owner who didn't socialize their dog.

So I have to say maybe the people in the shop weren't ignorant. Maybe they are just very careful.