Judgement

I was on a forum today (like all days) and people were sharing pictures of cute dogs.

I of course love my little Chihuahua Luna and posted a couple of pictures, including some of her in one of her outfits.

Someone took it upon themselves to call me out for being "cruel" to my dog.

They said that dogs did not like being clothed, that I was torturing her by forcing her to wear clothing. I was a cruel bad owner, and I probably fed Alpo to her and never clipped her nails and carried her around in a bag everywhere.

??????

What?

So this person figures all of this out because I post a picture of my little queen dressed up? Are you joking me?

Let me clarify by saying first, yes, Luna does have a wardrobe of clothes. Guess how often she wears any of them. Almost never. Why do I buy them? Because it makes me happy and once in a rare while there's a reason for her to put something on.

Is it torture? Cruel? I cannot ask Luna to tell me this, only show me. When I open her little wardrobe up and get something out and call her over, does she cringe and hide? No. She runs over and sits down and waits. She cooperates at putting her little legs through the shirts.

As opposed to hats, which she will scrape off her head in a moment.

So, going by her reaction, clothes are not cruel torture. Indeed, she has sweaters which I put on her if she is feeling very cold. Once a sweater goes on, she sleeps better and shivers less.

Now to the slanderous other remarks and assumptions this person made.

Do I feed Alpo? Hell no. I wouldn't give that slop to the neighbor's evil dog, let alone mine. Luna has allergies, and generally eats a mixture of raw foods and IVO chicken. She in excellent weight, not fat not thin, and her skin, coat, eyes and teeth are clear and clean.

Have I never clipped Luna's nails? Are you joking me? I clip dog nails every two weeks. Luna sits patiently and holds her paw up. Show me another chihuahua that does that. And I've seen a ton of evil little finger biters, having worked in dog grooming.

Do I carry Luna around in a bag? Are you joking me? She has four legs, just like my other dogs. She walks on a leash. I do pick her up if she needs to be picked up, but for the most part, she heels on and off leash. I don't even own a doggy carrier.

So what this all boils down to really. Does anyone have the right to judge another person based on something so innocent? It's one thing for someone to post pictures of an emaciated animal, to call them out and say something then, but to call out someone for something you perceive as cruel just because you don't like it? No.

There's a big fat line between something that is actually cruel and something that isn't. I don't agree with carrying a perfectly healthy chihuahua around in a purse. Does that make it cruel? No. Do I call someone out for it? No. It's none of my business if that's what they choose to do.

If someone posts a picture of their obviously skinny horse, do I say something then? Yes. But often tactfully (at least at first) and I make an effort to find out what's going on and help.

The point is, don't make assumptions about someone over something so ridiculous.

You might be wandering about what I said to this ignorant fool. I told them to get a life, grow up, and go volunteer at the Humane Society and really see what cruelty and torture is, and stopped posting on the thread.