Nashville is electing a new mayor on August 6, 2015. It is a hotly contested race and you can't watch local television stations without seeing slick, expensive ads from some of the candidates.
I haven't picked the mayoral candidate that I'm going to support just yet, but as of Sunday morning, I have eliminated one: Linda Eskind Rebrovick.
You see, Sunday morning, I was at the park with my dog, Leo. We were enjoying a brisk stroll along the paved roads at Percy Warner Park. We stopped at my car to get him some water and I noticed two women power-walking by the Flagpole. I looked a little closer and I noticed that one of those ladies was in fact, Linda Eskind Rebrovick. (If seeing her every time I turn on the television in one of her ads wasn't enough for me to properly identify her, wearing a shirt with her logo on it certainly did). At first, I thought. YES! This is awesome. A mayoral candidate who uses the park and believes in being active and fit. I love it!
And then I noticed a dog bumbling alongside them. The dog was beautiful and enormous and completely off leash. The dog would run far ahead of them and all around and then run back close to them before taking off again. My dog, Leo, properly leashed because... THAT IS THE LAW, noticed the off leash dog, too. And he started to pull on his own leash, because he wanted to play with the off leash dog.
At first, I thought: SURELY TO GOODNESS a mayoral candidate doesn't have her dog illegally off-leash in one of Nashville's busiest parks. I mean, no one is that dumb, right? I figured it must have been her friend's dog (although, if I was running for mayor, I wouldn't even walk with a friend who was doing something illegal). But, you could see that Ms. Rebrovick was indeed carrying a leash with her.
UGH.
First and foremost, It's illegal. Dogs are to be leashed at all times in Metro Nashville and specifically Metro Parks. And nothing pisses me off more than people who feel so entitled that they just think that laws don't apply to them.
Second of all, it's a law for a REASON. I don't care how well behaved you think your dog is. They are still an animal and (even though I don't understand it) not all people LIKE dogs. The park is for everyone, and everyone should be able to enjoy it without fear of a dog coming up to them. It's also unsafe for your dog and other dogs and animals in the park. And if there is anything I hate more than people with a sense of entitlement, it's people who willing and knowingly put their pets at risk.
An example: a couple of years ago, I was running in that same park and another asshole had his dog off leash running around. The dog's attention was pulled to a squirrel and he chased the squirrel to a tree. The squirrel was confused, scared, and disoriented and even though the owner was yelling at his dog to come back to him, the dog was too focused on the poor squirrel to pay his owner ANY attention. And the dog ended up killing the squirrel. All because some dickweed owner thought that the leash law didn't apply to him.
What if the squirrel had jumped out on the road into a car, and the dog followed? It's DANGEROUS, people. Protect your dogs!!!!!!
So, yeah, Linda Eskind Rebrovick won't be getting my vote this August and I thought I'd let some of my fellow Nashville park lovers and voters know why. I want a mayor who respects not only the laws of this city, but also their fellow citizens and their pets.
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6 comments:
I'm actually pretty terrified of dogs I don't know. Even on a leash, I feel like I'm always assessing whether the person holding the leash is strong enough, focused enough, and has a good enough hold on the leash that if the dog decides it wants to eat me, the owner could prevent it. (There is a dog food commercial here for Blue Wilderness reminding me a few times a week that dogs are descended from wolves and want nothing more than to eat meat; haha.) Off leash dogs nearly kill me regardless of size. Perfectly good reason to not only withhold your vote from her, but to put your vote in against her and for someone else. You should send an email to her campaign. But sadly, I do think that most politicians really think they are above the law. Do you watch House of Cards?
I really sort of can't stand that chick's humble-brag commercials anyway. I just sent this to her campaign website:
Hi,
It was brought to my attention through a friend's blog here in Nashville that Linda was in Percy Warner Park this past weekend (wearing a shirt promoting her campaign, which made her more recognizable), and had her dog off his/her leash.
Not only is this against the law, it is astoundingly dangerous for the dog and for people running/riding bikes/walking in the park. Although I'm a big dog fan (as is the friend who wrote the blog), I am decidedly NOT a fan of a strange dog running up to me. No one is. It doesn't matter how "well trained" you may think your dog is.
Generally, those who blatantly ignore Nashville's leash laws come across as arrogant, self-serving, believing they are above the law, and inconsiderate. That is not only my opinion....The majority of pet owners I know feel this way.
Anyway, Linda may want to reconsider wearing an advertisement for herself while actively breaking the law in public. Just a thought.
Thanks!
I totally hate this behavior, because it's just a blatant example of "I'm above the law". SO typical politician. Leash law means leash law!
Carina: I do watch house of cards! So good!!!! Anyway, I cracked up at your blue wilderness commercial comment. hahahahha. I won't be able to watch that commercial without thinking of you now.
Blog Bitch: Wow! Now, there's the difference of someone who gets paid to write for a living. I could have never come up with a letter that good. Did you ever hear anything back?
Gracie: Right? I mean, who writes laws? Politicians! You'd think they could at least obey them. Ugh.
Just got an email from Linda's campaign manager giving me a phone number so that Linda can apologize to me in person because she is "very regretful" about letting her dog off the leash briefly.
Let me know if you want to chat with Linda! lolz!
"Briefly." Right. I'm sure it was brief enough for her dog to take a dump somewhere where she didn't pick it up (also illegal!).
And I'm sure she wasn't regretful until she got the email from you.
Ugh.
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