In the dog house: Another idiot newspaper columnist
By Gina Spadafori
August 21, 2008
Let’s face it, there are three kinds of newspaper columnists: Entertaining, pointlessly bloviating and downright idiotic. Into which category would you put Paul Rutherford? He believes only people with backyards should have dogs:
Let’s face it, there’s three types of dog owners: Responsible, irresponsible and ridiculous.
Anyone who would raise a dog in an apartment is irresponsible.
That’s why I’m troubled by the NDP’s attempt to force more landlords to allow dogs and cats into rental complexes. The province’s plan is to introduce a change to the Residential Tenancies Act that will allow Manitoba’s landlords to charge tenants a “pet deposit” fee.
“The hope is that more landlords will consider allowing pets in apartments knowing they’ll have greater security to recoup any damages, a spokesman for finance minister Greg Selinger told the Winnipeg Sun. While most cats have the demeanour for the confines of an apartment or condo, dogs should be raised with plenty of room to run, play, feed, and rest.
For 20 years before I bought, I was an apartment dweller. Not once did I own a dog. I considered it way too cruel to the animal, not to mention my neighbours or the landlord.
Not only is there constant yapping or barking (small dogs are annoying) there’s potential damage to the rooms or hallways.
Dog “smells” can ruin an apartment unless the dog owner is a fanatical neat freak. More potential exists for the dog to snap, nip or bite at strangers milling about or coming or going. It’s nowhere near as adequate as a private fenced in backyard, dog house or special room in your own home.
Dog house? Mr. Rutherford, millions of people have happily and successfully maintained all manner of dogs in all kinds of accommodations, with less damage to the property than the average tenant. And the majority of those dogs have been less prone to aggressive behavior than the average tenant as well.
If anyone belongs in a dog house, it’s you, for being so ignorant to the fact that responsible pet-owners live in all kinds of places and that even people who can’t afford their own homes shouldn’t be denied the many documented benefits of having a pet.
In Ontario, it’s illegal to prohibit pets in rental accommodation - certain exceptions exist, such as condos which are private.
This ‘column’ is from Manitoba, which is chock-full of Type 3journalists (and politicians). What puzzles me is why they think they are qualified to bloviate (I LUV that word, it’s onomatopoeic and apt) on topics they know absolutely nothing about?
Canadian media are even more embarrassing than usual lately, which means they’ve reached a ‘peronal best’ (current Canuck media euphemism for being a loser in Beijing).
Comment by Caveat — August 21, 2008 @ 9:44 am
typos everywhere, please forgive me, my keyboard is almost pooched
Comment by Caveat — August 21, 2008 @ 9:45 am
I wonder what he’d say about the apartment complex where I live. The company goes to great lengths to welcome dog owners — they allow large pets, have a large field with lake for running/swimming the dogs, pet waste stations with complementary bags, and dog biscuits in the office so that whenever you walk by they can come out and give one to your dog.
It was one of the big reasons we chose this place when we moved to the area. Another was that each apartment or townhouse has its own fenced in patio. It’s not really a yard, but my dogs can go out and lounge on the patio if they wish. And hey, I can grow container plants and flowers! Bonus all the way around.
I know my dogs would love a farm with sheep to herd, and we’ll have that eventually. But until then, they get regular exercise and training and go almost everywhere with me. I can’t use the excuse that “they have a yard to run in” to ignore my responsibility to their health and well being. How much easier is it for someone to just toss the dog outside and expect it to entertain itself if they’ve had a hard day at work or just want to sit back and watch tv?
And you know, I haven’t heard anything like constant barking or yapping in the four years I’ve lived here, even though I work from home and most of my neighbours also having dogs. This surely wasn’t the case when I owned my home and had to listen to the bored dogs in their big backyards barking all day while the owners were at work.
Comment by EMoon — August 21, 2008 @ 9:49 am
So Mr. Rutherford would have had me give up my dogs when I moved to California at the peak of housing prices. And he surely would not have liked me getting one while a graduate student, even though I was at home with the dogs most of the time and had access to some wonderful places for training and walking. Hasn’t he ever heard of the simple ideas of “taking the dogs for a walk?” or “train the dog”? Thank you EMoon for a wonderful response. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Comment by Debbie — August 21, 2008 @ 10:01 am
I’m amused by his idea that a dog needs a “special room”! What’s that for???
Comment by Arlene — August 21, 2008 @ 10:05 am
“…dogs should be raised with plenty of room to run, play, feed, and rest.”
The first two can be taken care of by one or two walks a day. How much room does it take to feed a dog? And while my German Shepherd can take up an entire king-sized bed all by herself - it’s a gift - she does equally well on a 3’ X 4’ dog bed. She also sleeps most of the day… unless she taking a walk, or eating.
Comment by Dutch — August 21, 2008 @ 10:08 am
*eyes snoozing wiener dog*
Because we all know wiener dogs once roamed wild on the prairie and aren’t happy when kept confined. Yup.
*wiener dog stretches and yawns*
Comment by Eucritta — August 21, 2008 @ 10:23 am
I’m guessing he means “special room” as in a place to keep the rest of the house from potentially being damaged or shed upon by filthy animals.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 21, 2008 @ 10:30 am
I think cats have more of a potential to leave an apartment smelly than dogs. But you can be vigilant without being a “neat freak,” for goodness sakes.
As to him never having a dog until he bought a house. I give him my most sarcastic “good for yooooooooou.” I hate “rah me” journalists.
Comment by Lori — August 21, 2008 @ 10:39 am
Man oh man - I have two small dogs who are 10 and 11 years old, a cat, and several foster cats, and I live in an “apartment” in a quadplex. Yes, my dogs bark, on the occasion that some strange person is knocking on the door, and if they see an unfamiliar dog when we’re outside. Otherwise, they don’t bark. I’ve NEVER had a complaint, and my dogs and I have always lived in apartments! Small dogs are annoying…grrrr…
Comment by Kelli — August 21, 2008 @ 10:51 am
Can I take exception to his gratuitous slam on small dogs? I grew up with a bichon frise and a sweeter, less annoying dog will never be found. (Well, except for my current sweetie, a very undersized, perhaps even “small,” cocker spaniel.)
I really hate that attitude that small dogs are lame and enlightened, cool, “real” dog people have great disdain for them.
Comment by Sarah — August 21, 2008 @ 10:59 am
What’s sad about his statement is that the popular opinion sides with him. There are rescue groups that absolutely refuse to adopt to anyone without a yard and shun apartment/condo dwellers. In addition puppymillers will sell to anyone. The rescue group I assist LOVES LOVES LOVES apartment/condo dwellers because they know the dogs will get some form of activity/excursion outside versus being left in a yard all day/night. NOT even going to trot down his yapping/barking comment.
Comment by Mcappy — August 21, 2008 @ 10:59 am
I have lived in apartments with my 65-70 lb GSD/Lab mix for the past few years. Whenever I leave a rental property, I clean the carpets thoroughly, carefully wash all the nose prints off the windows, and otherwise repair any minor wear and tear caused by my pets. I haven’t ever had a problem. All of my security deposits have been returned and the only complaint I’ve received was from my landlord who demanded to know what was wrong with my dog (since my GSD mix sheds more than her Bichon. Obviously that means I’m doing something wrong.) My apartment does not smell. My dog does not bark or snap or bite.
This guy is an idiot.
Comment by Tara — August 21, 2008 @ 2:50 pm
Correction: my *last* landlord, not the current one. She’s the same landlord who told me that the reason the downstairs apartment had a leak was because I didn’t towel correctly after I showered. I don’t think the problem was the dog in that case…
Comment by Tara — August 21, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
I live in an apartment—granted, the building is a duplex and I own it, but it’s an apartment. I have no yard. I have a small dog and two cats.
Every day, the dog gets walked a minimum of twice, but more normally 3-5 times a day. Unlike Mr. Rutherford, I don’t have a yard, so I don’t have the option of sitting on my butt downing a beer while the dog “exercises herself.”
At the end of every work day, the first thing I do is give the two cats their canned food, and the second thing I do is take the dog out for her pre-dinner walk. My dinner waits until after the dog is walked—Mr. Rutherford, I guess, can avoid that inconvenience.
My previous tenant, in her last few months in residence, was looking for reasons to make me the bad guy to justify the fact that she’d decided she had to move. (Fixed income, rising expenses, I couldn’t come down on the rent.) “Yappy little dog” somehow seems to have escaped her attention. My current tenant has told me that, until she saw me walking Addy, she’d wondered if my claim to have a dog was some kind of weird joke, since she’d never heard her.
A few months ago, I was briefly flirting with selling the house. I had a realtor come to see it. He commented on the fact that there was no smell of dog or cat in the house.
His utterly gratuitous swipe at small dogs is, sadly, all too common.
Comment by Lis — August 21, 2008 @ 3:48 pm
What a pointless article. It is odd how some people project their personal experiences. My Pointer and Hunting Mutt might not be too happy without a yard or daily trips to a park, but my Rott is just fine sitting next to me most of the day. Different strokes for different dogs.
Comment by Erich Riesenberg — August 21, 2008 @ 4:14 pm
Comment by EMoon — August 21, 2008 @ 9:49 am
“I wonder what he’d say about the apartment complex where I live. The company goes to great lengths to welcome dog owners — they allow large pets, have a large field with lake for running/swimming the dogs, pet waste stations with complementary bags, and dog biscuits in the office so that whenever you walk by they can come out and give one to your dog.
Okay - that settles it! Me and my dog are coming to live with YOU! LOL!
Comment by The OTHER Pat — August 21, 2008 @ 4:32 pm
Oh, this type of attitude just drives me screaming yellow bonkers! I’ve seen so many miserable dogs that are just stuck in a huge backyard where no one ever comes to see them — they get food, water and shelter, but no walks, no being “part of the pack” and no interaction with anyone, human or canine.
Meanwhile, I have a BORDER COLLIE in town who walks with me on every non-food errand, does training runs with my marathon-running husband and spends hours with me at my work at the community garden. But we’re an “unfit for a dog” family because we live in an old steel town where they didn’t waste space for backyards that would only have collected coal dust anyway?
Please!
Comment by Dorene — August 21, 2008 @ 5:46 pm
Just a tip for anyone thinking about writing a letter to the editor on this story. I did do, and received a polite email from Mr. Rutherford (the author of the piece) signed with his title, “Comment Editor.” So, just know that he’ll (apparently) be the one (or one of the ones) deciding how the comments to his piece will be published.
Comment by Marjorie — August 21, 2008 @ 7:38 pm
Well, funny story I’ve got: My dog, a rat terrier, is 6 yrs. old now. I was his FOURTH home when I got him because people kept returning him to the shelter, as he was too hyper and high maintenance. These people ALL had back yards. I’ve had him now for 4 years and guess what? I live in an apartment! Yup, shocking I know. He is the best dog. Sweet, super smart, very friendly with everyone, especially children and the elderly, and all my neighbors in the building and the houses surrounding it love him. Oh yeah, and he doesn’t bark all day long even though I go to work all day, and of course he gets plenty of exercise and play time.
Shows how much this guy know about dogs in apartments.
Comment by Ana — August 22, 2008 @ 6:09 am
Wow.
I live in a small apartment, 4th flood, no elevator, with 2 cats and a 55lb dog (boxer). She barks maybe twice a *week*, and gets plenty of exercise (at least 3 walks a day, one of them an hour long. The vet compliments how fit she is)- and as a bonus I get exercise myself walking her.
She gets to meet doggy friends on the walks- what yard can give her that?
Comment by Xslf — August 22, 2008 @ 8:01 am
Unfortunately, it seems that many rescue organizations agree with him. In fact, they go even farther: even if you do have a backyard, if it’s not fenced, you’re still unworthy of a dog.
Because we all know walks are for wussies, and the only way to truly exercise a dog is to send it out unsupervised to dig holes and nap.
Sorry, that’s a bit of a sore spot for me, and work has already made me cranky this morning.
Comment by puppynerd — August 22, 2008 @ 9:06 am
As a breeder, I have to say that some of my *favorite* owners are those who live in apartments in large urban areas.
I know that those apartment living dogs are being walked - actually walked - at least three times per day, rather than just being turned out into a yard. Many of them get daily doggy day care, or visits from pet sitters and dog walkers. Best of all, they are a part of their owners lives in ways that suburban dogs sometimes aren’t — they go to Cafes, parks, stores and shops.
Responsible dog owners are responsible, no matter where they live, or what they live in.
Comment by Carol — August 22, 2008 @ 10:36 am
Mr. Rutherford is DEAD WRONG when he says the Manitoba government is trying “to force more landlords to allow dogs and cats into rental complexes.”
Rather, it’s considering allowing landlords to charge a “pet damage deposit”, in the hope that the deposit option will encourage landlords to allow pets in more apartments.
In other words, it’s considering a small “incentive” and counting on the market to create more pet-friendly spaces.
And THAT is the idea’s fundamental flaw.
A market-oriented approach didn’t work with payday loan companies in Manitoba. They continued to operate in exactly the same way until the province stepped in and imposed regulations on them. And a market approach WILL NOT WORK in the apartment-pets issue, either.
I’ve written to my MLA, and written about this issue a few times at my blog.
Comment by DMS — August 22, 2008 @ 10:53 am
Note to U.S. readers: “MLA” stands for “Member of the Legislative Assembly.” My MLA also happens to be responsible for Manitoba’s tenancy laws.
Comment by DMS — August 22, 2008 @ 11:10 am
He has missed much love and many fun hours,He is to be pitied for his lack of knowledge, maybe now that he has his own pet he will know what he has missed and his intelligence will be equally enhanced.Lifetime pet owners{friends}
Comment by Chuck & Lora — August 24, 2008 @ 1:04 pm