What's confusing and laughable is why you'd want to post in a thread which is obviously not inhabited by irresponsible dog owners.
My original post was intended to point out that not everybody needs to own a dog to enjoy them........
Many years ago I lived in a fourplex and two families in neighboring apartments had dogs that spent a great deal of time just hanging out with nothing to do....... Their owners worked days, I worked nights, and we were all pretty good friends... unlike a lot of neighbors today. I got off work at 2:30 AM, and in the summer, after breakfast, I often loaded both dogs up in my pickup and took them out in the mountains that surrounded the town (needless to say nobody objected)... I'd often unload both of them, and put the pickup in low gear, and idle along at about 15 mph for 5 miles or so to burn off excess dog energy. We'd usually hike a few miles on some trail or other......... It was the high point of their day. They were always eager to see me, and more so to go for a drive. I virtually lived in the mountains in those days........ When I wasn't working or sleeping, I was exploring, hiking, fishing, etc.... I could walk out my door, and cross the foot bridge right next to the house, and within less than a quarter mile I was in the woods....... I could fish the river for miles upstream........ No homes, a railroad on one side. My dog buddies often accompanied me...... they never strayed far, and always looked forward to those lazy summer days when I would just stash the fishing pole, grab my stringer of fish, and jump in the river and swim/drift several miles home to cool off........ I led a "life of Riley" in those days.... and the two dogs always had a great time. I often grabbed the neighbor kid 12.... a couple of houses down too.......Needless to say I didn't "drag him kicking and screaming all the way"....... About 10 years ago I took a friend's wife and young daughter on a week's vacation with me.......... I someone going to chastise me because he worked to support them, and I got the benefit of their company for only the gas money motels, and food for a week??
The good old days ;-) ............. The fellow I worked with at the mill, often dropped by on the way to work, and we'd load my kayak in his pickup so I could paddle the 11 miles home from work in the wee hours of the morning...... down two rivers, over a small spillway (about 8' drop)..... no real rapids. A wonderful moonlight trip with the river to myself. My former river bank home is now a small office complex, and dogs go to dog parks with their owners chasing them around with a pooper scooper....
Dogs, like children lead richer lives when they interact with more people.......... They understand the concept of family, but also of friends and community.
H.W.
