![\"Coolidge](\"https:\/\/beginsathome.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Hisstationand4aces-coolidge-300x198.jpg\" "\\"Dogs")
<\/a>In case you missed it; the first story is about Mary Bale or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Evil Cat Woman\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as she is known all over the Internet. She gained this name due to CCTV footage that records her placing a cat in a wheelie bin<\/a>. It is an act of senseless cruelty that deserves condemnation. Mary Bale received more<\/a> than condemnation<\/a> and ended up being placed in protective custody.<\/p>\n The second story involves musician Morrissey<\/a>, who in response to China\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mistreatment of animals stated, <\/p>\n Absolutely horrific. You can’t help but feel that the Chinese are a subspecies (source: The Guardian<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n There is some furore in the papers regarding this racist statement but Morrissey is not in protective custody.<\/p>\n The message that seems to be coming out of these stories is that any violent, malicious, or offensive action is justified if the intended victim has violated the rights of an animal. <\/p>\n This really does not sit well with me but I think at the root of all of this is the fact that we live in a society that seems comfortable with the idea of assigning personhood to animals even it results in our dehumanisation; and I witnessed this first hand last weekend.<\/p>\n Background<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n It is no secret that I am not a fan of dogs. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hate dogs. I do however have a healthy fear of dogs<\/a>, especially big dogs. I am not scared of all dogs; in fact once I spend time in the company of a particular dog I find that I can get on quite well with that dog. This makes sense to me because all animals are different; some are friendly<\/a>, some are not<\/a>. I have had a hard time explaining this distinction to certain dog lovers and dog owners who seem aghast that I will not join them in their public display of affection for a dog whose owner\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name they do not know. <\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh but he looks so cute\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em>; they say, as they proceed to ruffle the fur of this stranger\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 pet. This is often followed by many questions about why I do not like dogs. I must have had some traumatic experience to explain my irrational fear of an animal that has the capability to maul a person to death<\/a>. <\/p>\n Disclosure:<\/strong><\/em>
\nYes as a young child in Kenya, while walking home from school, I was chased by a pack of dogs and the owner stood there and watched. But\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6even before the dogs chased me, I remember seeing them, feeling very scared and then running for my life. So it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the dog chasing incident that made me scared of dogs, all it did was prove me right that some dogs are vicious and it is far easier to avoid them all then to risk life or limb trying to work out which ones are not.<\/p>\n