This campground info page for a place in NC came through my inbox this morning:
Leashed pets are welcome, excluding the following breeds: Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Pinchers, Greyhounds, Husky, and German Shepherds.
Apparently Greyhounds and these other breeds (and non-breeds) pose such a menacing threat to campground society even on leash that they simply can not be allowed into the place. The website doesn’t say but I’m wondering if they allow guns and alcohol.
Here’s what I’m thinking: The campground doesn’t really mean to single out and ban specific kinds of dogs. What they actually intend to do is keep irresponsible people from creating a nuisance or dangerous situation for others. Lacking the legal A-OK from their attorney to put up a “Everyone Gotta Act Right” sign, they are instead falling into the breed profiling trap.
The people who run this campground obviously know little about dogs and probably are incapable of identifying the targeted breeds (real and make believe) anyway. They just don’t want bad owners of any breed behaving irresponsibly and making trouble. I can understand that. But the policy banning specific breeds isn’t going to accomplish that. Nor will it prevent irresponsible people from behaving badly with say, guns or alcohol – a far more realistic threat to my mind than a family pet on a camping trip. Responsible people know how to handle their dogs, guns and alcohol. The breed ban policy is ignorant and needs to be eliminated.