MYOB

Last weekend my husband and I went out to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. As it happens, this restaurant isn't pet friendly. We were in Santa Cruz and its the beginning of paid parking season, so we decided to purchase a $35 seasonal permit. With our new parking pass securely affixed to the car window, we began searching like a shark swarming around for its prey trying to locate an appropriate place that had enough shade to keep the dogs comfortable. Finally, we found a place to park our car.

We rolled down the windows a bit to provide ventilation, and tried as best we could to get the dogs to quietly wait for us while we grabbed a bite to eat. Unfortunately, Bentley has the terrible habit of barking stressfully whenever we leave him - even if one of us remains. This time was no different. As we walked away, we heard him carrying on, but we were sure the dogs would settle down, and upon our return they were resting comfortably. We had spent about an hour and a half inside the restaurant, and returned to our car with a note left under the windshield (in the shape of a traffic ticket). The note berated us for leaving our dogs in the car unattended. The note went on to call us abusive, said the dogs had barked for hours while we were gone, and stated that the police were called because of this.

Really? To whomever wrote that note: mind your own business!

I get so tired of people, those who probably don't even own a dog, telling me what is or is not abusive treatment of my pets. We never leave them without making sure they are pretty darn comfortable. We also go back and check on them frequently when they are in the car (although we don't go too close so as not to upset them). In fact, that day we had been enjoying the company of the dogs all morning, and had just finished walking them for over an hour. They even got to socialize with other dogs at the park before our walk.

This isn't the first time either. About six months ago, I had stopped to get a cup of coffee at a local Starbucks and upon my return to the car, a concerned woman had called security. There was a line in the coffee shop that made the dogs and me wait for maybe 15 minutes, but the car was in the shade, and the car thermometer read 65 degrees, so I wasn't worried. Imagine my surprise when I returned and there was a woman antagonizing my dogs just outside my car. Roxie was hiding and shuddering, and Bentley was barking away. The security officer seemed embarrassed. He turned to the woman and said there was no need for concern, but the woman yelled at me saying it was obvious that I didn't love my pets, as she stomped away.

What makes people feel like they have the right to get into other people's business like this? They must think they are advocating for defenseless animals, but if they truly want to defray cruelty towards animals, they should try sending money to their favorite animal charity, and keep it at that. Maybe then something good would come from their attempt to help out.