Due to extended period of rain; clouds; coolness; shortening days and heavy work schedule, it has been almost a dozen days since I was on the river. It's changed! No more lush fullness, many trees have bared their branches and what color is left on the trees is muted.
Still, it has it's mid-autumn beauti-ness.
The river was quite high after all the rain we've gotten. Looking at this picture you'd never know the day was quite windy. It died down to stillness by the time I trekked up river. The dragonflies and damselflies have gone. Very little bird activity, other than ducks. Saw a bluejay.
Came upon these cows along a grazing field which borders the water with a steep embankment.
I told the cows a joke.
"I HERD you were here." They didn't find it funny. I guess they were in a bad MOO'd.
PITBULLS- hype or legitimate concern
As the sun sinks lower in the late afternoon sky, the air and water chills, and it's time to wrap it up.
As I get out of the river and drag the kayak towards the car, a woman walking a leashed dog approaches.
He's leery of me.
"It's the kayak," she said. "He's really friendly, loves people."
I stop and set the kayak down and step away from it.
"He's welcome to check out the kayak," I say, "maybe he'll get used to them that way."
She walks him to the kayak and he sniffs it.
She is chatty. Works with kids, who she says, love him and respond positively to him.
He watches me guardedly.
He keeps his head low, and doesn't take his eyes off me. I get the feeling he's not as friendly as she is trying to portray him to be.
I ask his age.
"The shelter aged him at around three years old when I got him, and I've had him eight months."'
"What breed is he?" I ask.
"Brady's a cross between (she names another breed of dog) and pitbull."
I gently hold my hand out.
With a startling suddenness he lunges at me, and she fights to restrain him, pulling hard on his leash as he spins her around, the contents of her travel mug spilling out.
She says the dog's actions are because I'm wearing a scarf. "He reacted similarly when my son wore a hat," she says, as though that explained anything.
"He was fine over summer," she adds, "but as people wear hats and scarves in the colder weather, he acts nervous."
She goes on to describe his attributes, but at the same time she is saying how she first encountered him. It was during a home visit where there was concern for the environment two children were being raised in. There were 'red flags,' including the presence of four dogs (Brady being one of them) which were confiscated and the other three were readily adopted from the Kennebunk Animal Shelter, but Brady wasn't, due to some injuries he was recovering from. Apparently the man of the house was training him as a fight dog (!) Brady had signs of abuse, including a nasty burn lesion on its neck, which she said was due to one of the training methods used to strengthen the dogs.
There was something about him, despite her assurances of 'how far he's come.'
The dog clearly felt a connection to her, his advocate and rescuer. It wagged its tail and apparently felt reassured at her attentions and affections. But when he looked at me I could see he was unconvinced that I wasn't a threat.
There will always be a controversy over whether dogs bred to fight are able to be trustworthy through rehabilitation.
Let us all hope so.
No comments:
Post a Comment