At the North Rim Drive Upper Falls Overlook, there was a
sign indicating no pets beyond a certain point that would take the visitor to
the actual point of the overlook. The sign included a symbol that was
unmistakable. A gentleman with some sort
of bulldog was dutifully sitting in the shade, waiting for his traveling
companion(s) to return.
As we walked in, there was a young family with two children
and two dogs, trying to get the children and dogs to pose on some sort of
statue. This irritates me, that the
parents would blatantly disobey rules in front of and including their children
in the activity. What are they teaching
their children? I happened to notice the
car this family was traveling in, and had occasion to observe how the father
was driving. His driving skills were no better at following the rules of the road than were
his obedience to signs at a tourist attraction.
Additionally, I saw an older woman, perhaps my age, with her
poodle type dog beyond the dogs allowed area. She was not with anyone, so I
suppose she had a choice of missing the attraction, taking her dog with her, or
locking him in the car for an undetermined amount of time, during which the dog
might suffer from heat illness.
I used to travel along with a dog, Mack, and made a point
not to go where the dog could not go, or leave the dog in the car for less than
10-15 minutes: buying gas, getting fast food, or maybe checking into a
motel. And often, when I checked into a
motel, if I had more than one bag, the dog walked in and out with me to get my
things. There was once, the last trip I
made to the Northeast with Mack, when he did not want to leave the hotel room after I got my first load in. I could not
blame him, it was bitter cold outside and the room was very snug. He had done his business, so there was no
reason to force him out again, and besides, he would let me know if he needed
to go out.
Traveling with a dog is a wonderful experience, but it has
its own special challenges. I admit, the
first time I travelled alone with Mack, I had not planned for all of those
challenges, but most, I had planned for.
After that, I knew what I was doing and felt I always went well
prepared.
Perhaps the family with the two dogs had not planned for all
of the challenges they would meet while traveling with the two dogs, but this
was a no brainer: the adults just took
turns going to the observation point, while one stayed behind with the
dogs! I know dogs are family, but there
are sometimes special rules for these members of our families.
