Saturday 5 April 2014

As If By Magic.....



Maybe in Gay Paree, matronly spinsters will occasionally be seen in the Luxembourg Gardens walking with Chi Chi, or Poochy Woochy; their miniature Poodles. But in the rest of France people hardly ever walk their dogs; I'm sure it would be seen as a sign of weakness.

There seems to be two basic types of French dog owners. Firstly, and probably the most common, are those who simply chain-up their dogs for life. And secondly there are those who open the door in the morning to let Bonzo loose, then call him back again in the evening (if they can be bothered, and/or if he's still around). 

Our local dog owners mostly fall into the second category; although, sadly, there are plenty of the first around too.

Lady Magnon's duties are to walk our two just before lunchtime, and again in the late afternoon. I do the early morning session, and if I'm still awake, I might take them again about supper time.

The above sight is not uncommon. She leaves the house with just two, and often returns with half a dozen. The others simply tag along.

Joining her above were Iggy Pup (furthest away behind Lady M), and Isis (the only local female, who is madly in love with Monty).  

Both nice dogs, and a pleasure to take along on any walk. 

I believe that some people even get paid for walking other people's dogs. Maybe.... no, maybe not!


9 comments:

  1. I find it really strange that dogs are just 'let out' perhaps dog walking is a purely British thing - there is a big dog walking community in our village (and a professional dog walker).

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  2. The 24-hour chained dog is not uncommon here, makes me spit tacks. Unfortunately it is not considered neglect and is not illegal. Some people are just sub-human and should never be allowed the care of any sentient being.

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    1. I have friends whose next door neighbours recently bought (or were given) a beautiful Border Collie puppy. It has been chained-up since day 1. Luckily my friends take it for walks, but I suspect that its owner thinks they're nuts.

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  3. Yes, it's sad isn't it? I think most farm dogs round here are chained up. At least the farmer took his Border Collie for long walks twice a day and then took him out for sheep rounding up.
    We have a lot of dog-walkers on our Lane, I suspect mostly because - being a country lane - they don't feel they have to clean up the poo.

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  4. We've had some problems around our town with folks that are unable to keep their dogs under voice command. Up until recently it was legal to allow dogs to run unleashed on the beach before and after "regular beach hours". Apparently someone's dog killed a nesting Piping Plover, a protected species and refused to own up to it. As a result the some federal wildlife protection agency sued the town for a six figure sum and the town council instituted a new law requiring all dogs on public property to be leashed at all times that then resulted in further backlash from the dog owners. A bit of "dog wars" you could say.

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    Replies
    1. Dogs and towns are not always compatible, but there should always be some large area where they can run free. Beaches are another matter!

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  5. Hmmm...very lax pet owners over there.

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  6. Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing a dog chained up 24/7. Some people should not be allowed to own a dog.....period.

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  7. With four very different dogs, I am continually asked if I am I am professional dog walker
    .... A job .......I would love to have

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