Dogs have been banned from the Porch before. I vaguely remember seeing a sign posted to that effect for a short while. But, like others, I assumed this applied to foreign dogs unfamiliar with Porch etiquette. Certainly not our local dogs.
Since we have only cats at home, I've sorta adopted many of the dogs of Terlingua: Duke, Stormy, Bessie, Jake, Angel, Sugar, Momo, Jesus, Lluvia, Brown Dog, and more. I love these dogs. And most of the time, when I get to love on these dogs, it's at the Porch. They're regulars, kinda like Uh and Dr. Doug. The Porch just isn't the Porch without 'em.
Now there's a new rule. And supposedly it's supposed to stick. I suppose.
This newly enforced rule follows an incident last week when a local dog bit a little girl's face. Those are the facts. But for the whole story (since I wasn't there), I have to rely on hearsay.
Here's what I heard: The child's parents (tourists?) were eating and drinking in the Starlight and allowed their precious daughter to wander off. In a strange place. The child approached a Porch dog and took away his/her bone. The dog reacted by snapping at her and unfortunately (for everyone involved) nipped her face.
The parents were appalled. The child was distraught and hurt. The dog was put down. An edict was issued barring all canine creatures from our beloved Porch.
And yes, it's quite upsetting that a child was bitten at the Porch. I'm upset about that. Everyone is. But I know from experience that you should never take food away from a strange dog. Or cat. Or even another human being. And if I know that, doesn't everyone?
And another thing. Why was the child unsupervised? At the very least, you'd think someone would have had a lazy eye on her. Not that I'm trying to pin the blame, but as a parent, I know that when my child was out of my sight and not under my protection, anything could (and almost always did) happen.
I'm sad about the whole situation. I don't think it's fair to say that the edict is an over-reaction, but I think that dogs are kind of like children; they should be somewhat supervised. Particularly in public. And most particularly around tourons and their kids.
Here's what I heard: The child's parents (tourists?) were eating and drinking in the Starlight and allowed their precious daughter to wander off. In a strange place. The child approached a Porch dog and took away his/her bone. The dog reacted by snapping at her and unfortunately (for everyone involved) nipped her face.
The parents were appalled. The child was distraught and hurt. The dog was put down. An edict was issued barring all canine creatures from our beloved Porch.
And yes, it's quite upsetting that a child was bitten at the Porch. I'm upset about that. Everyone is. But I know from experience that you should never take food away from a strange dog. Or cat. Or even another human being. And if I know that, doesn't everyone?
And another thing. Why was the child unsupervised? At the very least, you'd think someone would have had a lazy eye on her. Not that I'm trying to pin the blame, but as a parent, I know that when my child was out of my sight and not under my protection, anything could (and almost always did) happen.
I'm sad about the whole situation. I don't think it's fair to say that the edict is an over-reaction, but I think that dogs are kind of like children; they should be somewhat supervised. Particularly in public. And most particularly around tourons and their kids.
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