Having lived in India, I'm aware that South Asians and Middle Easterners do not like dogs. Some are afraid of them (and if you've run into a pack of Indian pariah dogs you'd understand why) some just find them disguisting.
Though there was this Middle Eastern lady we bumped into at the shopping center. Her kids saw Sarama and went nuts, pointing, cringing, hiding behind her. She grabbed the boy firmly by the arm and said "No. That's a nice dog" and off they went. I wonder if she was trying to acclimate them to the culture here?
So I understand people who have cultural/religious prejustices against dogs, and I once had a friend (white) who had a full blown phobia (he was scared to touch a beagle puppy that bearly had its eyes open). But I'm just kinda of mystified by these people who were raised in the US and are stark terrified of Sarama; they can't all be clinical phobics. I'm even more mystified they all seem (around here) to be black. And I'm slightly alarmed that two of them were hostile (one very hostile).
It can't be the breed (though she does look a little like a wild animal, maybe that's it) and it can't be me, I'm about as nonthreatening as human beings come. Maybe its just the lifestyle? Alexandria isn't the inner city, but its not the suburbs precisely either . . . and most of the people here, of any color, are working class . . . but there are a heck of a lot of dogs around, so its not like they are unusual. And many of them are MUCH bigger and more imposing than Sarama is.
I wonder, if I put a shirt or something on her if their reaction would change? I don't think I'm likely to run into any of these folks again (and in one case I really, really hope I don't) but do you think that might prevent more incidents? Something to make her look more . . . tame?
Though there was this Middle Eastern lady we bumped into at the shopping center. Her kids saw Sarama and went nuts, pointing, cringing, hiding behind her. She grabbed the boy firmly by the arm and said "No. That's a nice dog" and off they went. I wonder if she was trying to acclimate them to the culture here?
So I understand people who have cultural/religious prejustices against dogs, and I once had a friend (white) who had a full blown phobia (he was scared to touch a beagle puppy that bearly had its eyes open). But I'm just kinda of mystified by these people who were raised in the US and are stark terrified of Sarama; they can't all be clinical phobics. I'm even more mystified they all seem (around here) to be black. And I'm slightly alarmed that two of them were hostile (one very hostile).
It can't be the breed (though she does look a little like a wild animal, maybe that's it) and it can't be me, I'm about as nonthreatening as human beings come. Maybe its just the lifestyle? Alexandria isn't the inner city, but its not the suburbs precisely either . . . and most of the people here, of any color, are working class . . . but there are a heck of a lot of dogs around, so its not like they are unusual. And many of them are MUCH bigger and more imposing than Sarama is.
I wonder, if I put a shirt or something on her if their reaction would change? I don't think I'm likely to run into any of these folks again (and in one case I really, really hope I don't) but do you think that might prevent more incidents? Something to make her look more . . . tame?