What's upsetting you today?

[orthodoc]

What's making me angry today is that my ex, before giving me the iMac desktop he didn't want, reformatted it and casually mentioned that I might want to put Mountain Lion on. I did so. Now Adobe Reader won't download anything at all from the internet; I can't print out an IRS form I really need. Oh, and my ex kept all the drivers for both my printers (I couldn't find the discs before I left), and while I know the drivers can be had online, my vision is blurry from chemo and it's causing me physical pain to try to look at the desktop monitor. And he set up the printer so that, even though it's hard-connected to the desktop, it goes wirelessly through the computer instead ... ?? huh? Why wouldn't it recognize the ethernet printer cable? And neither of my two old laptops will find the printer on the network.

I have to go away and calm down and then I'm sure I'll figure out something - get rid of the network printing and just go with direct connection, is my thought. Simple is good. But I'll still have to download the drivers and install them and I don't have the time or the vision, and I still can't use Adobe Reader despite downloading the latest version, and ....

Bleh. Rant over. I guess I'm most upset about my blurry vision. If I could see, I could read my stuff for exams and write my papers and download those drivers and all of this wouldn't matter.

[BigV]

sorry to hear about your vision and computer troubles orthodoc

[orthodoc]

Thanks V ... Hey, this is better! All is well! oh wait ...

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by orthodoc

What's making me angry today is my iMac

This is why god invented PCs

[SamIam]

My little Corgi, Wyn, got attacked in the dog park today by a vicious shepard mix almost 3 times Wyn's size.

[DanaC]

Shit, is Wyn ok?

[Trilby]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Everyone is allowed a tantrum now and then!!

And if I thought you were super serious, I would have said a lot more and I would have been hurt. But *I* know that *you* know you are loved here, and by me included.

that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me this morning!

[footfootfoot]

He only loves you for your mind, unlike me.

[SamIam]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Shit, is Wyn ok?

Thanks for your concern, Dana! I checked him out from nose to tail twice and found no sign of physical harm. But he was very subdued last night and didn’t have that little Corgi sparkle in his eyes. He seems perkier today, though.

I am so angry over this incident. Wyn is a tough little guy. He is fearless about swimming across cold mountain streams and will hike through the desert and the mountains with me on his short little legs and never seems to tire and has never wimped out and asked to be picked up. He may be small, but his heart is huge. Up till yesterday, he played with the big dogs as well as the small, always happy to make new friends and not adverse to a bit of doggie rough housing.

But he can’t take on another dog in such an uneven fight. He's NEVER been a fighter, anyhow - or a snapper or a nipper. He doesn’t deserve to lose the spark in his eye for so much as a minute – never mind being beat up by the local dog park bully. Right now, I am very, very angry.

[DanaC]

Oh poor lad. He'll be ok. They're resilient creatures. Would probably have more lasting impact if he'd been hurt rather than just frightened and if he'd been that bit younger.

Carrot was targeted by a staffie cross when he was about 5 months old. Didn't hurt him but was ragging on his fur and pinning him down to the floor. Thankfully he was so young that he didn't try and fight back, he just froze. I'm convinced if he'd have put up the least resistance she'd have torn him to shreds.

I was worried afterwards that he'd be timid with other dogs, but he was just as gungho about greeting them as he ever was, so no harm done.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I've seen dogs roughhouse where I'd swear it was a death match. But after establishing pack dominance, the pecking order, nothing worse than a lot of slobbered fur.

[DanaC]

Oh me too. But this was more than just roughhousing. The staffie cross that went for carrot came hurtling at him from across the road and was ragging on his fur in a very particular way. It wasn't just about establishing dominance, it was about provoking a response. Bear in mind this wasn't a dog attacking another dog, this was a bitch attacking a pup. That's a troubled dog right there.

Pilau was a troubled dog. In some ways. And he would do the same thing given an opportunity, which is why he spent a lot of his life on extender leads rather than free running. In that situation, the other dog's resopnse is key to where it all goes. Fight back, or even worse try to run away and it kicks the whole thing into overdrive.

It's a different dynamic to the normal roughousing for dominance, which I also saw Pil do with some male dogs including his brother.

[SamIam]

Originally Posted by DanaC

It wasn't just about establishing dominance, it was about provoking a response. Bear in mind this wasn't a dog attacking another dog, this was a bitch attacking a pup. That's a troubled dog right there.

Yep.

That was the same exact situation - a large, adult bitch attacking a smaller pup that still isn't even a year old.

I talked around with some dog park regulars and found out that "Bella" has attacked other dogs there not just once, but several times. In two instances, Bella inflicted damage that incurred vet bills for several hundred dollars.

Bella's owner has been reported to the local animal control officer more than once, also. So far, the owner has been warned, but with no citation or other consequences. Unbelievable!

Tonight I was at the dog park along with a casual aquaintance of mine and his dog, Carson (a lively beagle that Wyn always plays with). Carson's Dad saw Bella and her owner pulling into the paring lot and said, "Here comes trouble." Then he called Carson, walked over to his truck and left.

I never confront people IRL. I'd rather just get along or avoid any potential situations, myself. But I was pretty P.O.'ed after what had happened to Wyn and finding out that Bella actually tears into other dogs all the time.

Why should all the responsible owners and their dogs be forced out of the park by one irresponsible person and her mean dog? Plus, the day might well come when Bella actually kills a smaller dog if someone doesn't get there quickly enough to rescue it.

So, I let the woman who owns Bella have it. I told her she was not to bring Bella into the park if Wyn was there, too, otherwise I'd call animal control on her and THIS time I'd demand that they do something more than just give her a little slap on the wrist.

Of course Bella's owner denied that her dog had a problem. It was EVERYONE else who had a problem, not poor, sweet Bella. I told her that she'd better worry about ME and the major problem animal control would visit on her if she ever let Bella near Wyn again.

Then I left, too. So, one more time Bella had the park all to herself while Wyn and I finished our stroll by walking around in the cemetary across the street. I hate this kind of shit.

[DanaC]

Stupid woman. She's doing her dog no favours.

It's hearbreaking to have a dog that can't be trusted with other dogs and/or people. Took me a while to admit to myself that Pilau wasn't getting better about it and actually was posing a risk to himself and others. Pilau scared a few younger dogs before I got the message and stopped letting run free when others were about. I got an extender lead. Eventually, in order to let him run free without causing trouble I took to muzzling him whenever he was off the lead. Unless we were in a place where I could see very clearly that nobody was around.

Pilau wasn't a vicious dog. He was a frightened dog. He got the message early on (from a variety of causes) that outdoors was a dangerous place. And nothing I did changed that. I'm quietly confident that he would never have done any serious damage. But if he'd nipped a child, what then? And however confident I am that he would never have savaged a human I could never have said the same about other dogs. I doubt he'd have ever done more than minor damage with a dog, but I couldn't be sure about that. He had the potential to do more and his unpredictable nature outdoors meant it was a possibility I had to take seriously.

Setting aside the impact on other dogs and dogwalkers, the impact of an incident on Pilau himself could have been catastrophic. He once tried to pick a fight with a Japanese Akita. And what if he had actually bitten someone? A child? Even a little herding nip is a major matter for a child. Or seriously lost it with a smaller dog? What about when the police turn up to see if your dog is dangerous and he tries to bite the policeman because he's scared?

That dog's owner is allowing her dog to endanger itself. She is putting her at risk of starting a fight she can't finish or euthanasia atthe hands of the authorities.

[Trilby]

I'm sorry Wyn was roughed up but....walking around the cemetery sounds like more fun than the dog park any day! You never know who you'll meet.