Who lets the dogs out?

Dear White people

Please be aware that as black people we carry the intergenerational trauma of having dogs set on our forefathers without provocation. That means when I am happily walking in my neighbourhood park with my daughter and your dog comes running towards us I automatically fear the worst and she will start running. Please make sure your dogs are on a leash and if they are not and they run towards a child or adult of colour you find a way to reign them in very quickly before traumatising us. This has happened to me far too many times to even count and it makes me so angry each time because the offender will smile and tell me the dog won’t bite and I shouldn’t worry, which makes me even angrier.

So, if you’re a dog owner and are able to take a few good minutes to really just try and hear that before jumping to what feels like your dogs defence [cos of course this is not about “All dogs” but watching the rest of the conversations unfold across different conversation threads throughout the day i think it is safe to say that it is “A good number of dogs”.

Also we are not talking about specific places that are dogs-not-on-leash-friendly – we are talking about in streets and neighbourhoods and public spaces where they are not.

Then my friend Lesego shared my post above on her page and added these words:

It’s not that difficult to leash them up. So glad someone else has raised it. I didn’t understand the depth at first. Kind of thought she was exaggerating. Hate that it took me another’s words to see it but glad I know understand.

LEASH UP IN PUBLIC SPACES.

It’s oppressive not to. You have no idea

So now we’re talking at least two people’s experience but from the number of likes, shares and comments it quickly became obvious that this was a big deal for a lot of people.

[Also the comments that follow are not all from the same thread – i have picked a number that i thought were helpful although there is some conversation where some comments relate to previous comments but i think it’s all pretty obvious]

Busisiwe Hands:Thanks for touching on the dog issue. It’s very real.

Vathiswa Tshawekazi Ruselo: I’m just scared of dogs, period. Dogs have traumatised me my entire life. especially dogs in the suburbs, don’t know why.

Charmaine Sadie: Yep ditto having dogs up in your face when you dont love dogs. I have an internal recoil and then dog owners say just pat him; he is very friendly. Hayi smh

Sipeto Loyiso Ganca:I absolutely love dogs…but I am TERRIFIED of dogs that I don’t know. Even those that bark at the gate because they’re excited. No. Lock the dog up fam & if I frequent your place, you can ease me into a relationship with your animal. It’s LITERALLY the smallest (and yet so significant) of considerations. Honestly.

Danae Horsler:Unfortunately the years of oppression run so deep that even the most awake white person would not have had this thought on their own.
Thanks for sharing this it makes a lot of sense. My dogs are pretty unfriendly so they’re always on leashes but in all honesty if my dogs were super gentle I would have let them roam around and said ‘don’t worry she doesn’t bite” to anyone who looked afraid. So thank you, I will never let a dog off a leash in a public park ever again.

i love this moment of realisation and commitment to change from Danae.

Andrew Tlou:IF IT HAS TEETH IT BITES!!!! Arggg white people must get with it. If we are afraid of dogs there’s reason… Tired of schooling white people who don’t wanna make an effort.

Sam Mahlawe:Very true for most black people. Some black people still hold beliefs that white people’s dogs are trained to bark or attack black people. So this is a really important issue raised here.

Sam Mahlawe:It’s simply about empathizing with the other, to understand their everyday experiences and pain which are historically rooted, and then being aware of how your role/position as a white person sometimes (unintentionally) perpetuates oppression and causes pain for the other. More than anything it is actually empowering you as a white person existing today to be more self-aware.

Helene Visagie:Not all dogs are friendly…and some have been trained to be fighters or guard dogs. I like dogs…but even as a white person I believe one should teach children caution, but more importantly dog owners should be respectful of others and their concerns

Dave Gale:Sam Mahlawe – well put. I seldom take my dogs out of our yard, but when I do, they’re on a leash. I also tend to forget that not everyone likes dogs (no matter how friendly they are), and some people have been traumatised by them.

Lesego Tlhabi:Just put them on leashes! Why is that so difficult? Now we must take our children to schools where they learn not to be afraid of dogs instead of owners just being responsible and keeping them away

Ashley Brownlee:I think some people should be put on leashes quite frankly, but that is beside the point, In all the 40 plus years I’ve been a dog owner, the only time I’ve ever had problems with my dog is the moment I put them on a leash.

Lesego Tlhabi:But even if your dogs are sweethearts, people’s fears and trauma aren’t linked to your dog specifically. It’s unfair that people must feel restricted movement in public areas because you don’t feel like leashing your dogs

Innocentia Kgobane:Ashley,I lived in a nice cul de sac where our neighbours had big scary dogs they oft let loose because they were too lazy to put their dogs away before opening their gate and driving off. There was a nursery school quite close and on the days they were out we had to drive two houses to drop off our son where we could have walked. They had to be called by the creche often until the dogs were taken away. The other neighbour had smaller dogs. I walked with my son to the park often telling him not to be afraid. One day that neighbours gate was open and their smallest made a run for me. I stood frozen in place carrying my child and in my sweetest voice “saying hello little doggy” and it still took a chomp at me as I began running screaming and limping with my son in my arms. He grew terrified of dogs and I myself a little unsettled. I grew up owning dogs but sooner grew to learn not all dogs are like mine. I also grew up knowing to keep my dog away from the main entrance so our visitors could breath easier. Hun, we dont have a nice dog radar so we have to be careful with every dog until proven otherwise, or people just need to keep their dogs on a leash.

Dave Gale: Ask any runner about dogs. I’ve always owned dogs and I’ve always been seriously p*ssed at people who don’t put their dogs behind closed fences and gates or had them on leashes when I’ve run past. If your dog goes nuts on a leash – I suggest some on-leash obedience training. IN any case, it’s the law – your dog in a public place needs to be under your control.

Innocentia Kgobane: I walk about 3 blocks to my sons school from the main road for his soccer matches and school meetings. I kid you not, the dogs that whole path bark at me depending on my hairdo. If I have braids or my natural hair out they go mental. The time I had a blonde weave then a black weave…. not a peep came from them ?.

Jean Mboule: I always had pets growing up though I don’t trust any dog that ain’t mine..especially next to my child. A good friend of mine had his neighbour’s dog run towards his son and bite him right on the face for no reason. That dog wasn’t meant to bite according to the owner. Sadly, the boy is scarred for life..

Katherine Read: I agree, it’s normally white people who don’t control their dogs and it makes me furious. Especially when the owner thinks it’s funny when people are scared of their pet – being humiliated and scared is NOT funny.

I’m white, but I sure as heck don’t want anyone else’s dogs near me or my family. I can’t even imagine what it’s like when you’ve had a traumatic dog experience on the basis of race added into the mix.

Alexa Russell Matthews:As a dog person…. Who adores them, I think that this is an important conversation. In addition to what has been said above, I also think that too many of us dog people, feel we need to show/ heal / help people get over their dog thing by allowing our dogs into their space with the ‘s/he won’t bite’ etc etc… Unless invited, I have come to realise that it’s presumptuous and not helpful – and I have been one of those people. I still have to stop myself from doing it. It feeds into lots of other positions of ‘i know better ‘ w hich in our current looking at how to be justice, dignified and honouring of each other society matters.
(Hope that this makes sense!)

Brett Fish again…

i think there is a lot there. Definitely stuff for dog owners to think about. But also just some really great engagement. Ashley’s first comment was “Isn’t that a gross generalisation?” and yet, despite feeling personally attacked he remained engaged. Lesego stayed remarkably patient in the face of Ashley’s comment and others and many other people jumped in and bravely shared their stories and thoughts. For the most part they were well received. There is a lot we can learn from this conversation. Hopefully there will be more on other topics – when people start really listening and then acknowledging other peoples’ stories and especially their pain, that is when we are most likely to be able to “move on.”

But lastly, on the dog issue, if you would like to know more, i found this article where they invited a number of dog experts to give their opinions quite interesting and helpful: