I avidly follow and support a wonderful NFP dog rescue in Tennessee called, “Big Fluffy Dog Rescue.” The founder, Jean, is an attorney in those parts who has an incredibly wicked-cool sense of humor whose FaceBook posts never fail to amuse, delight, inform and above all, create awareness.
Animal rescue is a very tough, most times very thankless job. People in rescue suffer from their own form of PTSD called “Compassion Fatigue,” and it ain’t nothin’ to sniff at. I have some very good girlfriends working in rescue and after listening to their stories, I wouldn’t want to go through what they do on a daily basis for all the tea in Taiwan.
Often times these rescue workers bear the brunt of public scrutiny in the form of attacks on them, personally, if some know-it-all thinks THEY have all the answers with regard to the dogs and know better than those with their boots on the ground.
I am including Jean’s “rant” here in its entirety as sort of a PSA to dog owners and people in general everywhere. This particular post is about the importance of fences, electric fences, egotistical dog owners, and info about having a safe, well-trained dog.
And, let me just say, read this before you cast any more aspersions:
“OK kids, a late-night rant.
So, the next person who tells me it's wrong to require a fence for a dog, or that dogs can be trained to respect a boundary or that dogs can live behind a wireless fence, blah blah blah are going to draw back a metaphorical stump.
For those making this argument, I'm going to guess you haven't had 20,000+ dogs walk through your doors. We have. We've seen it all. Please do us the courtesy of not lecturing us on how to do our jobs because we do it day in and day out and we know exactly of what we speak. We know our dogs and we know which ones have to have a fence and which ones don't. You don't. So be quiet, please, because it's super irritating. I don't come on your pages and tell bakers how to decorate cakes, or accountants how to do their jobs, or nurses how to do their jobs.
The rules and the reasons:
1. If we say a particular dog needs a fence, it does. Period.
2. If we have a dog that is a huge flight risk or who is reactive in public on a leash, it needs a fence. Period.
3. Electric fences are never a good idea in my opinion. Why? Well, as a lawyer, I've had to defend dogs who got into it with dogs who charged that invisible line and they reacted badly to that charging dog. It wasn't the fault of the dog behind the invisible fence. It was their dumb owner who left them in the yard on an e-fence not realizing that dogs defend territories, even invisible ones, and that people and dogs walking past will naturally cause them to run up which results in them getting the crap shocked out of them. That causes aggression. It also causes dogs walking with owners to react defensively. It also does jack to keep dogs from attacking them, or coyotes, etc. It also burns. Don't believe me? Come over and let me put one on you and let you feel what that little "correction" feels like.
4. You can train a dog all you want, but even the best-trained dog can get hit by a car, stolen, attacked by coyotes, poisoned, enticed by a running cat, and so on.
5. I don't care if you have 30,000 acres. I've had dogs get out and turn up 600 miles away. We watched one run on a satellite tag and they booked it about 10 miles away in a day.
6. Some dogs are naturally more territorial and need to be confined behind a solid fence. I've seen a number of German shepherds and Great Pyrenees put on spectacular shows defending their yards that might be the nicest dogs ever, but they do their jobs. Neighbors rarely appreciate the spectacle.
So kindly stop saying this. We've been doing this a long time, we've placed a ton of dogs and our rules are there for a reason. If you don't have a fence, get a dog that doesn't require one. Most of ours do and that's just the way it is.
Thanks for your consideration.”
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“Big Fluffy Dog Rescue” is a NFP 501c3 specializing in giant breed working dogs and their mixes. Contact BFDR on FaceBook and at www.bigfluffydogrescue.comto make donations, inquire about any wonderful dogs they have up for adoption to qualified adopters and any Big Fluffy Dog questions in general.
I strongly urge you to read their company profile and rules and regulations. You will get a taste of Jean’s sensibilities and wicked-sharp humor. Believe her.
You’re welcome!
Laura