Random Encounter In Loring Park

For yesterday’s walk, we took the dogs down to the Walker Sculpture Garden (home to the famous Spoonbridge And Cherry fountain) and Loring Park (an evening home to many otherwise homeless people).

As we walked through Loring Park, we met a man reading the paper on one of the park’s benches. As we approached and Babbage strained at the leash to say hello, the man asked, “Have you gotten your Michael Vick chew toys yet?” There was an article in the paper yesterday about an upcoming St. Paul Saints promotion where they’ll be giving out 2500 chew toys with the Atlanta Falcons’ team colors and Vick’s jersey number. For those of you who have been living under a rock and might be wondering who Michael Vick is, here are a few recent articles.

It has been an interesting time to own our dogs. In the space of a month we’ve gone from local lawmakers raising an alarm and proposing laws to make people like Jen and me criminals because of the type of dogs we own, to an outpouring of sympathy from strangers (not to mention the number of “what beautiful dogs” comments we’ve gotten on our walks). I can’t attribute this change in zeitgeist solely to Mr. Vick, but I’m guessing that seeing news images of dogfighting and reading about these beautiful dogs being electrocuted, drowned, or beaten to death if they don’t fight has subtly moved the focus of the “dangerous dog problem” from the animals to their owners and breeders. That is as it should be.

Now, if they’d just treat overpaid, under performing, prima donna NFL quarter backs the same way Mr. Vick treated his dogs. “I’m sorry Michael, you’ve under-thrown your last pass to a wide-open receiver. Just hold still while I plug in my cattle-prod.”