"Irish Wolfhounds", The centre of attention wherever they go!

Today was the annual "Harvest Market" at the Cumberland Heritage Museum. When we arrived the parking was quite full. I was a little concerned because of how tight the space was and the volume of people attending. The venders tables were quite close together and the area between was filled with shoppers. Sue said Luna would be fine, so i snugged up her lead and in we went. As you could imagine a lane opened for us almost immediately. Only to close just as fast. We were quickly surrounded by people wanting to meet and pet our Luna. Luna sat and stood majestically while strangers patted her head and rubbed her belly. It appeared as if all thought of shopping had evaporated once they got a sight of our Luna. I was surprised I wasn't asked to leave by the people hawking their wares. But they all joined in the fun and made Luna feel welcome. A couple of times during our visit families with very young children tentatively approached us. Luna like a champion stood rock still and allowed the children to give her a pet. I couldn't have been prouder. People constantly commented on how beautiful and calm Luna was. It was hard for me not to take credit for what comes so naturally to our little girl.

   Now to a sadder story, last week in Montreal a new bylaw banning Pit Bulls was enacted. This type of reaction to a dog attack is the worst  one possible. A entire breed of dogs (in this case several breeds) is being blamed for the act of a single animal. In my 56 years i have found that very rarely is a dog directly responsible for this kind of behaviour. I have always imagined a dog regardless of their age nothing more then a young child. Young children need constance attention and positive role models. You would not blame a five year old if he or she got their hands on a fire arm and injured somebody. We should look at pets the same way. 

   Regularly on the edge to the rougher parts of our continent you hear of mauling's by bears, mountain lions, wolves and cougars. After these events I have never heard of a call to eradicate an entire species (breed). The offending animal is generally found and put down. Although this example is not the same as dogs in a city the response by authorities can easily be applied.