April 19, 2024

"In a city where many feel ready to snap, dogs have become easy targets for a bubbling undercurrent of rage."

"Now, strangers will just tell my dog he’s an asshole. On three separate occasions, a woman in my building, who doesn’t know I work from home and who doesn’t live on my floor, has come downstairs to stand right in front of my door until Milo starts barking, then yells at him gleefully. Walking to the corner store the other day, Milo made a little woof while crossing the street. 'Shut up, dog,' a man told him, staring at me. The woman next to him started laughing. 'Yeah, shut up dog!'..."

Writes Bindu Bansinath, in "Why Does Everyone Hate My Dog? In a city bubbling over with rage, pets — and their owners — are enemy No. 1" (The Cut).
“More and more it seems like dog culture has become synonymous with mainstream culture and the norm is just dogs should be everywhere people are,” one Bushwick resident told me. “It’s really awkward to speak up about that, like you’re ruining someone’s fun.”... 
I do my best to not be the entitled Brooklyn dog owner you hate. But the rudeness people feel comfortable dishing out at me because I have a dog is turning me rude, and sometimes I’m too tired to resist it....

Once, while crossing in front of a preschool with Milo, I had a particularly nasty spat with a woman walking her twin dachshunds on extra-long leads. She took up the whole sidewalk without batting an eye while I pulled Milo close to me. When I smiled at her, she barked, “Stay away.” It was my last straw. “We’re not even near you,” I snapped. The woman erupted. She followed me down the block chanting: “Asshole! Asshole! I just asked for a little bit of kindness!” I picked up speed. The person on the other end of my phone asked me what was going on. I turned around and looked squarely at the woman, now no more than two feet from Milo and me. “Just this fucking bitch,” I said....

From the comments over there: "Its incredible how well this article answers the question posed by the headline. Jesus christ. Yes, the denizens of New York city prefer not to have their children attacked, their belongings and their neighborhoods covered in animal piss and shit. Thats why we hate your dog." 

42 comments:

Sebastian said...

"dogs have become easy targets for a bubbling undercurrent of rage"

Cuz rage against humans causing problems gets you arrested or killed.

mccullough said...

Brooklyn has been a shithole since the Dodgers left.

Kai Akker said...

But at least dogs are not those awful children you used to see around! Thank God they're almost all gone.

MadisonMan said...

How did she know the dachshunds were twins?

n.n said...

Pet proxies are an emoathetic outlet for reasonable animal control.

NKP said...

Cuz rage against humans causing problems gets you arrested or killed.

Depends on where you live. Soros- sponsored DA; No Problem.

Mason G said...

"Why Does Everyone Hate My Dog?"

Everyone where you live? Maybe because they're mostly all assholes and being similarly rude to a person could get their lights punched out. You're in NYC, after all.

NKP said...

Dogs are wonderful creatures. Barking dogs? Three warnings, then a ride to the shelter.

A pox on people who "humanize" their pets.

MadisonMan said...

The blog title is best read in the Coming Attractions Movie voice.
In Madison, people usually view my dog with a joyful look on their face. And I do the same for their dog (unless I/my dog don't know it yet, in which case caution -- not rage!! -- is warranted)

Mrs. X said...

Can’t decide if the article is more click bait or “poor me.” I’m a New York City dog owner and this tale does not at all reflect my experience. Other dog owners are friendly (barring the one-in-a-hundred jerk) and pedestrians are usually charmed by my super charming (not that I’m biased) dog. Nor are the sidewalks in my Manhattan neighborhood mined with poop. Maybe people in Brooklyn are just entitled dog- and/or people-hating assholes.

Old and slow said...

Many dog owners are very stupid and inconsiderate. I have a dog, he is a bit of an asshole if I'm being honest. When I walk him I avoid other people, and I sure as hell don't take him to the supermarket. Who the hell thinks that is acceptable?

doctrev said...

I propose a compromise. Let the doggos out of New York City, then let the Iranians nuke the place into melted concrete and glass.

Jupiter said...

Let me help you out, Bindu. The reason everyone hates your dog is that it barks. And you let it bark. By which you assert that your animal's right to self-expression outweighs everyone else's right to not have to listen to the wretched thing. So, let's look on the bright side. They don't really hate your dog. They just hate you, for letting it bark. Don't believe me, Bindu? Ask yourself; do they hate my cat? No, they don't hate your cat. Your cat is just fine, although some people aren't too happy about its propensity to kill small birds. It's you they hate, you inconsiderate piece of shit. Get some gender-affirming care, why don't you?

n.n said...

A roiling, boiling, LOL-ing progression of bubbling burdens.

John henry said...

"pets or meat."

John Henry

rehajm said...

Gee...why would many feel ready to snap? Because they know voted for this is number one with a bullet...

rehajm said...

This is the end of the queue for self immolation. The line begins two blocks north...

Mr. D said...

The only dogs I dislike are the unleashed ones that come tearing into the street to protect their territory when I’m walking in the neighborhood, especially at night when you can’t see them until they’re on you.

n.n said...

"pets or meat."

Meet and pet.

Quaestor said...

@Jupiter 👍🏻

Milo this and Milo that, but not a word regarding its breed, size, loudness, aggression, etc. Some dogs simply do not belong in the city, and many dog owners, that dachshund bitch, for one.

If you're working from home, Bindu (Geez, these names...) save a heap of money and work from home in rural New Jersey. If you must report to the office periodically, take the train. Milo will love the freedom to romp and poop. Making your beloved pet live on concrete because you're too fucked up to separate yourself from that boiling urban rage is cruelty.

n.n said...

OccupyNYC, Antica, Beagle Lives Matter

Iman said...

And the Yew Norkers wonder why there are so many crazy violent acts, beat downs, etc. in their sewer of a city.

Mary Beth said...

I first read "The Cut" as "The Cat" and it was a lot funnier.

If people don't like your dog, you have probably made your dog unlikable. No one wants their stoop to smell like dog pee. It's not just you "bending the rules", it's dozens of you who think the rules shouldn't apply to you and your dog.

Iman said...

“Cuz rage against humans causing problems gets you arrested or killed.”

Killed yes. Arrested, not so much.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

Where we live, everyone has at least one dog. Tina, at the end of the street, has 5 dogs. Susan, immediately across the street has 4 dogs. We have just one dog, Sadie.

What makes people mad are the concrete campers, who leave the street filthy and the rampant crime, that the city government and courts are unwilling to control. Commit a crime, get arrested, charged and then released, all in the same day.

Mikey NTH said...

"Pets or meat?"

"Let's meat the neighbors!" - old cannibal saying.

Iman said...

“The only dogs I dislike are the unleashed ones that come tearing into the street to protect their territory when I’m walking in the neighborhood, especially at night when you can’t see them until they’re on you.”

You tell those masher dogs, “No! means No!”, Mr. D.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Wow. 138 comments and no one blamed Trump. A couple probably veered close, but overall the self-discipline was extraordinary.

Randomizer said...

Mrs. X said...
Can’t decide if the article is more click bait or “poor me.” I’m a New York City dog owner and this tale does not at all reflect my experience.

I don't live in NYC, but that article does sound phony. Three times, the upstairs neighbor came down to yell at Milo, and the author didn't open the door and talk to the neighbor?

Bindu notices a bunch of dirty looks from strangers and quotes a few friends, and the article practically writes itself.


Joe Bar said...

The author states the dog is a "poochon.". I had to look that up. It is a cross between a "bichon frise and the toy or miniature poodle." I am unsure what the first is, but the mix must be help a loudly ugly. And, small dogs have a tendency to bark a lot.

Ice Nine said...

Here's my approach to other people's dogs:

Don't jump up on me (or, as it happens, you will meet my knee). Don't lick me, (or you will encounter my foot gently pushing you away). Don't stick your face in my crotch ( knee again). Do all that, Fido, and we might be friends.

I don't encounter many friendship-worthy dogs.

Narr said...

"Wow. 138 comments and no one blamed Trump."

27 here, and no Trump-dumping. But the night is young.

Eva Marie said...

“What makes people mad are the concrete campers, who leave the street filthy and the rampant crime, that the city government and courts are unwilling to control. Commit a crime, get arrested, charged and then released, all in the same day.”
This is exactly right.
New Yorkers feel powerless and since they can do nothing about the way they are governed, they start turning on each other. You could see this in Commie countries during the 70s if you visited. Not enough ticket takers? Blame the customers waiting in line. Not enough garbage collection? Blame the other inhabitants for generating too much trash. It’s such a relief for corrupt, incompetent bureaucracies. When citizens reach a point of complete hopelessness, they turn on each other.

walter said...

Fear the Poochon.

Marco the Lab said...

Marco's big problem is everyone stops him so often for a interview at Walmart and pet friendly restaurants that it slows us down getting in and out. Dog haters are few and far between for him. My son was with us for holiday and went shopping with Marco. Couldn't believe how many conversations he had with pretty girls. Nobody believes it until they see it.

Dad said...

What Jupiter said. I don't want to listen to your dog. I don't want to go shopping with it. When I see your dog in Lowe's, I go down a different aisle. I don't want it sniffing my pants leg. Get it out of my way. Michael K. thinks everyone loves his effing Basset Hounds. Well, they don't. They avoid you and your dogs, so you, in your obliviousness, aren't aware, and think everyone just loves your cute little doggies.

Rocco said...

“a bubbling undercurrent of rage."

Thanks to Ghostbusters, this is how I imagine the currents of rage under New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K1WZUfvE54

Mea Sententia said...

I walk my dog every day, and no one ever bothers us. If a bystander says anything, it's a compliment, "What a pretty dog!" as my dog is sniffing and scrounging for UGOs (unidentified ground objects). But I live in a small town, not in a big city boiling over with rage and self-immolation.

Bruce Hayden said...

“The only dogs I dislike are the unleashed ones that come tearing into the street to protect their territory when I’m walking in the neighborhood, especially at night when you can’t see them until they’re on you.”

In PHX, I carry mace, and, of course, a gun. A quick shout, and the neighbors get them back pronto, knowing that free ranging dogs violate the HOA covenants, and not wanting the fine. In LAS, there are a lot of unleashed dogs in the park we frequent. Not a problem so far. I let the little ones sniff mine, and yell at the infrequent larger one, which gets a rapid response from its owner. And in MT, dogs don’t run unleashed in town - period. Now, they may be in someone’s truck, but they stay there. At home, outside towns, they do very often roam free. If you go onto their land, expect them to challenge you - that’s part of why they are there. But overall, feral cats are the bigger nuisance. In rural MT, they live a short brutal, life, and I don’t begrudge them coming around to cage food. We have a rescued barn cat, who probably thanks his deity every day that he pushed his way to the front of the cage when my partner went over to investigate. The ones who weren’t picked up that day for adoption probably ended up in a burlap bag in the river.

effinayright said...

I'll never forget the day years ago, I'm out jogging with two friends.

An angry ankle-biter races out from a yard to do ankle-biting violence to us.

My friend, without breaking a stride, smartly boots the pooch into the air.

It does a lovely parabolic arc into the air as we pass by unmleted.

The pooch
The Nike
And the arc
Are one.

iowan2 said...

The Largest Cities I have spent time enough to be among the locals is St Louis and Kansas City, that was 30 years ago.
I really don't understand what makes those people tick. What is described is so foreign to me, it sounds like its made up.

orthodoc said...

I think the problem (having grown up nearby and lived there for a spell) is that New Yorkers are assholes. The dogs have nothing to do with it.