Shame, Shame, Shame

Pardon me, I need to rant for a moment.

prej·u·dice/ˈprejədəs/

noun: Preconceived opinion not based on reason or experience 

I'll be the first one to admit that I was prejudice.  Having never had any personal experience with them, I thought they were mean-spirited, easily agitated, and fierce.  Just their appearance gave the impression that they were bad, vicious, and violent.  All you have to do is mention their name and people suck in air, gasp, or get squeamish:

Doberman

Picture courtesy: Randy W.

Yep, I had a "preconceived opinion not based on reason or experience" about the very breed of dog that is now such an integral part of my life.  Of my family.  (Please, note, I'm not one of those "the dog is my kid" people - but we have made Diesel a part of our everyday lives now, including our camping).

And that's what brings us to this rant.  I booked a site for this weekend, last minute, since we missed out on last weekend with the rain.  Just one night - and since I had wanted to visit Lake Texana earlier (such a lovely park!) I thought I'd give them call and book.

So, the booking was no problem.

Getting to reserve a specific site - no problem!

You guys allow dogs on-leash - no problem!

Well, until you read the fine print.  I received my confirmation email and get to the second to last paragraph, and find this:

Pet Policies:

PETS are to be kept quiet and secured by a leash of six (6') feet or less, OR confined. Pets may not be left unattended. Please clean up after them.  Pets other than seeing-eye dogs are NOT PERMITTED in the buildings.

AGGRESSIVE PET BREEDS such as Doberman, Rottweiler, Pit Bull or any mix of these breeds will not be allowed in any part of the Recreation Complex. If a pet demonstrates aggressive behavior, regardless of breed, it may be asked to leave the Complex.

(The emphasis, by the way, is all theirs.)

So, I called back within less than 10 minutes to cancel my reservation.  I get it, you don't.  You don't understand that just because a dog is, or looks like, a certain breed does not automatically make it a raving mad rabid lunatic of a creature that is hell bent on death and destruction.  You don't understand that it's more about the owner (and their choice to train and teach and nurture), than it is about the type of dog (or the nature of that dog).  You don't get it.  And I understand.

I expected that I would be refunded for the booking as I paid the deposit over the phone.  And they willingly did - minus a $5 cancellation fee.  I get penalized because of their lack of communication regarding breed specific restrictions? (I had asked if it was ok that I brought a dog along, they simply said, yes.)

So, here I am - ranting over $5, right?  No.  I'm ranting over the injustice of judging my dog simply by the breed type on his AKC registration.

Shame on them for being closed-minded.
Shame on them for being uneducated.
Shame on them for being prejudiced.

Shame, shame, shame.




Picture courtesy: Randy W.