You can never quite predict which minor events will change your life. We'd like to think that the one dollar lottery ticket or resume sent to a huge company will have an impact, but more often than not, it is something unplanned, something trivial, even something from a very early age. They don't call them the formative years for nothing, and for me, a defining moment that reverberates through my daily life predates my memory of the event.
As a toddler, when long curly hair was merely short curly pigtails, an overzealous neighbor dog mistook me for a squeaky toy and barreled toward me, knocking me over and leaving me forever mortified by dogs. I'm fully aware that it's more than a little absurd for a college sophomore to be standing on a table, shrieking in terror, "Get that dog away from me!" but it's a clinical reaction, Pavlovian if you will, that I have little control over. And for some reason, every single person who witnesses my classic panic scene tells me, "You know, dogs know when you're afraid." Really? Was it the running and screaming that gave it away? I think rock salt could pick up on the same thing.
I don't like dogs. I don't even like dog movies. Beethoven, Homeward Bound, and 101 Dalmatians may have grossed a few million each, but my $6.50 was not part of that. My use of the phrase "dog movie" has become synonymous with "exceptionally bad." ("Julie, how did you do on that exam?" "Dog movie.") As a prospective freshman, two dogs ran up to my tour group and I almost decided against coming here (though I was later consoled by the Hop fries).
When it comes to canine tolerance, this campus is borderline ridiculous. I see certain dogs around campus more than I see some of my friends. I feel as if there are some dogs I share classes with. This has got to be the only campus where "no dog" signs are as common as "no smoking" signs. Putting a "no dog" sign on any other campus would be as pointless as putting a "no bikinis" sign on Collis in the middle of winter. Short of a Lassie museum, Dartmouth is the most canine friendly place I know.
I wouldn't deny anyone the right to own pets, but I do feel it is inconsiderate and disrespectful to inflict those pets on other people. While I understand that dog owners might be inconvenienced by monitoring their dogs more closely, the so-called "leash laws" that are all but nominally in place here are intended for people like me who prefer to eat lunch, study and walk freely in public places without being accosted by dogs. If I'm feverishly sweating in a class, it should be because of academic intensity and not because the prowling pooch is putting me through a panic attack. There are times that I've been forced to leave the reserve corridor because an overzealous dog was roaming and snuffling around the tables. I realize my strange fear of dogs is more extreme than most people's experiences, but frankly I know many people who would simply prefer not to deal with roaming animals. Your dog may be your best friend, but I know if my best friend jumped up and licked strangers, I'd think twice about letting her roam in public. (And then I'd refer her to counseling ... )
Go ahead and love your pets. Feel free to turn your home into an animal shelter and walk your dog on a leash all over Dartmouth's green earth. You can tape episodes of Wild Kingdom in your very living room, but please, out of consideration to those of us who don't dig on dogs, don't force other people to love your dog.
