Original printed signature: Marj Weir
I propose that we admit defeat as soon as possible. I speak not of Viet Nam, but of our neighborhood. We humans are engaged in a “no-win” war with a canine guerrilla force which has tactical superiority, excellent mobility, and grim determination. Our apathy and ambivalence have doomed us to ultimate annihilation. Why not face it, withdraw gracefully, and leave the dogs to work out their own destinies.
It is the grossest kind of paternalism to subject man’s BEST friend to a leash, a fenced backyard, a rabies shot, a distemper shot, a dish of food and a pan of water, and (indignity of indignities!) a BATH! How can we in good conscience impose our bourgeois values on these innocents? Do we want to domesticate them? There are those in our community who do, but many evidently believe in the dog’s right to be wild, to roam free, to eat all the garbage his heart desires, to bite with impunity any man, woman or child he pleases, to grow sick and die at liberty.
Since the Dog’s resolve to preserve these freedoms exceeds our desire to protect our own, it is manifest that our destiny must be worked out elsewhere. Therefore, let us withdraw and diplomatically recognize the new borough of Dogtown.
Originally published in The Paper, October–November 1972.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1972_10.pdf, printed page 2.
