Digitized
by the
InternetArchive
in
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withfunding from
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http://www.archive.org/details/alternateroutesc18alte
Alternate
Routes
A Journal of Critical Social Research
Editors
Amanda McCarthy
Siomonn Pulla
Alternate Routes
A Journal of Critical Social Research Volume
18,2002
EditorialPolicy/Call
For Paper
4Perspectives
Mike
PattersonWalking
theDog: An Urban Ethnography
ofOwners and
theirDogs
5Articles
Terry
m Provost Bodying Black Goddesses:The Duty
ofRepresen-
tationAcross Time and
Cultures 71Janet
E.Gwilliam Dangerous Customs: Censorship
in RiskSociety 100
Contents of
Past Issues 127AlternateRoutes
Editorial Policy/Call For Papers
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K1S
5B6, altroutesa/lists.carleton. ca.As
a peer reviewed journal,AR
provides a forum for debate and exchangeamong
North AmericanandInternationalgraduatestudents.We
areinterested inreceivingpapers writtenby graduate students (orcoauthored with faculty), regardless of university affiliation.Theeditorialemphasis ofthejournalisonthepublicationofcriticalandprovocative analysesoftheoreticalandsubstantiveissues.
We
welcomepapersonabroad range oftopicsand encourage submissions which advance orchallenge theoreticalques- tions and contemporary issues.We
also welcome commentaries and reviews of recentpublications,worksinprogressand personal perspectives.Alternate Routes is currently seeking submissions for
Volume
19,20C»Papers
should be submitted double-spaced and in triplicate, following the American Psy- chological Association(APA)
referencing system, keeping endnotesto aminimum.Please seeour website for a style-guide.
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Ihe Alternate Routes Collective gratefully acknowledge the financial assistanceol the Carleton University community; the DepartmentsofSociology ami Anthropology and
it's (hair, the Dean ofArts and Social Sciences: the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research: and theVice-President of Research.
We
also wishto gratefully thank alltheanonymous reviewers.
Volume is. 2002
Perspective
Walking
theDog
1:An Urban Ethnography
ofOwners and
theirDogs
in theGlebe (Where Can
'Lassie' 'Go?' Territorialityand Contested Spaces)
Mike Patterson
Thispaper
examines
theways
inwhich dogs and
theirowners
interactin the Glebe, a small upscaleneighborhood
inthe centre of Ottawa.Using
participant observationand
autoethnography. the paperdocuments my
arrival with
my dog
in thisnew neighborhood, and
our adventuresgood and
bad. Issues such ascontested use ofterritory, along with anexami-
nation ofstratified layersof
legislationand
local,more
personalviews on
dogs, arecombined
to provide apictureof
a societyintransitionand
partition, particularly with regards topublic land
and
parkuse.Compet-
ing interest groups include cyclists,young
families, seniorsand
thosewho
believedogs
shouldbe
neitherseennorheard.The
papershows
thatdogs
are 'lightningrods' for different levels ofpublic opinion,which
are manifestlyconcerned
with animals but latentlymore
involved withhuman
socialization, withgovernance
of theneighborhood, and
with allocation ofnaturalresources inthearea.Theories
Informing
thisStudy
I
have
heardthereisaway
ofkeeping your
relationshipwithyour
dog. Spit inhismouth and
hewillalways
befaithfultoyou"
(Peltier 1988: 12)I used informal interviews, material culture
(newspapers and maga-
zines),
and
subjectiveexperienceand
observation as atypeoftheoreticalsampling where
"theanalyst jointlycollects, codes,and
analyzeshis dataand
decideswhat
data tocollectnextand where
(andwhen)
tofindthem,"process of data collection controlled
by
theemerging
theory" (Glaserand
Strauss 1967: 45). Iended up
with "slices of data." inan open
VolumeIS, 2001 5
Alternate Routes
inquiry aspiringto "nolimits tothetechniques ofdata collection'(I also use
newspapers and
the currentdog
literature to help with 'triangula- tion* in this study (Albasand Albas
1998: 133)). resulting in "a variety of slices of data thatwould
be bewildering ifwe wished
to evaluatethem
asaccurate evidencefor verifications," butareuseful in generating theory asthis variety "ishighlybeneficial,because
ityieldsmore
infor-mation on
categories thanany one mode
ofknowing
(techniqueof
col- lection)" (Glaserand
Strauss 1967: 65-66).I also used this participant action research as a learning tool for
my own
techniques in sociology.Thispaper, then,becomes
alsoan autobio- graphical narrative,2 basedon
notes that include everything inmy
"field." including influences of colleagues, friends, family
and
neigh- bors.Charmaz and
Mitchell argue that,beyond
discourse.:...there isalsomerit inaudibleauthorship.
We
speak ofthe writer's voicefrom
the standpoint of ethnographerscom-
mitted to the vocation of using allwe can
of our imperfecthuman
capacities to experienceand communicate some-
thing ofothers' lives.We go and
seeand sometimes
join:we
askand
listen,wonder and
write,and
tell ourstories,not necessarily in that order.We
believe that these simple acts ofoutward
inquiryand inward
reflection together with effortand
creativity will give ussomething
tosayworth of
sharing.We do
not pretend that our stories report autono-mous
truths, but neitherdo we
share the cynic's nihilism thatethnography
is abiased irrelevancy.We
hold amodest
faith in
middle ground (Charmaz and
Mitchell 1997: 194).They
maintain that"We do
ourselvesand
our disciplinesno
serviceby
only telling half-tales,by
onlyreporting finished analyses in temperate voice,by
suppressingwonder
or perplexity or dread" Clarityand
truth aremore
likelyfound
in "ethnography, (where) theemergent
self isacculturated: it learns the limits of its
own power"
in a reflexiveway (Charmaz and
Mitchell 1997: 212-213,also see 1998)This is. I think, in line with
what
Glaserand
Strausssay aboutareader'sjudging
the credibility of theory (and the effectiveness ofsociological writings): "Firstof
all. ifa readerbecomes
sufficiently caughtup
in the6 Volume18,
2002
description so thathe feelsvicariously that
he
is also in thefield, then it ismore
likely tobe
kindly disposedtoward
the researcher's theory thanifthe description
seems
flat orunconvincing," alsojudged
are"how
the researchercame
tohis conclusions"and
theuse of"multiplecomparison
groups" tomake
the "credibility of the theory considerably greater"0967:230-231).
It is surely not pure science, but as Cassel says:
"Atoms do
not read scientific papersand change
their behavior accordingly.On
the other hand,a social scientist's theoriesabout theworld
canmake
a difference tothevery nature ofsocial lifeitself (1993
: 35).Thisis alsoakin tothe
methodology of
RobertE. Park:Park
was
impressedby
thenumber
ofexamples where
social sciences
owed some
oftheirmost profound
insights to personswhose knowledge was based more on
abroad and
intimateacquaintance withpeopleand
theiractionsthanon
the methodically structured investigations ofa system- atic science. Insuch
cases, "ideas"may emerge from
satu- rated experience(Lindner 1990: 38).This
work
isurban
anthropology in theChicago
School sense, a criticalethnography borne
ofamethod
ofdirect observationand
the epistemol-ogy
ofrealism.Lindner
points out that the"Chicago
sociologists' origi- nal position (also)concealeda critical potential withrespecttothe social circumstancesbeing investigated" (1990: 65). Thispotential can be seen in the"image
ofa sociologist as poet,someone who
isconcerned
withatmospheric
content and,asaliteraryperson,someone who
isconcerned
about reportingand
not putting things right... In a culture distortedby norms
("the distortion ofreality throughnormative
preconceptions"), itis the
empathy,
intuitionand
sensitivity ofthe poetic personwhich
can successfully break through the ossified fields of conventional thought"(1990:
204
Itals. mine).Finally, this
work owes
a debtto the pioneering research of Clinton Sanders.He
acquiredtwo Newfoundland
puppiesin1988
afterthedeath ofhis previous dog. and. "ashe was spending massive amounts
of time with hisnew companions, he
decided toexamine
systematically the interactional process inwhich
hewas
deeply involved" (Arlukeand
Sanders 1996:20).Volume 18,2001 7
Alternate Routes
Narrative,
Data and
Analysis IntroductionI
moved back
to theGlebe
to finishmy
Ph.D. in Sociology at Carleton University, after 15 yearshaving lastlivedthere. Itreminds me of Lower Westmount and
theWest End
in Montreal, placeswhere
Igrew
up. Itis a leafy, treed part oftown
with slow streetsand
amix
of people,from yuppies
to empty-nestersand DINKS
(double income,no
kids), to themany
studentsand
facultyfrom
Carleton University tolocal family peo- plefrom
several generations ago. descendants ofearlyOttawa
settlersand
peoplefrom
before.;I brought Peaches, a
dog
I've had since shewas
fiveweeks
old. She's a three-year-old SiberianHusky
'Border Collie/Wolf(?)mix who needs
torun.
She
has lived on the road, in thebush and
in the countrymost
of her life, althoughwhen
shewas
veryyoung we
4 lived inOverbrook below
Vanier. I like to be able towalk
in peace, participate in the green spacesaround me
(likemy
dog); Inow know
that whiletrying thison
a dailybasis, every spaceintheneighborhood becomes
contested.""After
having
lived inthe country withdogs
as aboy and
adult. Iw
ent without a pet formany
years in the city. I gotPeaches because
Iwas
thinking ofgettinga dog.and some
friendsofmine were having
puppiesatthe
same
time. Ithought shewould be good
forme.
61 alsothought shewould
helpexpand my
social circle,which
shestill does.7
She
still isthe subject of conversation all overtheneighborhood, from
the corner store to the park,and
particularly with theimmediate
neighbors,where some
ofthe bestand
worst of our relationsbecame somehow
invested in the dog.sShe
is stilla peoplemagnet anywhere we
go.which used
to include everythingto classesattheuniversity (she enjoyed quantitativemethods because
ofalow-key
instructor;contemporary
theory sent her spinningin circles), to the
many
parksaround
the city, stores, pubs,and
social gatherings ofall typesand
places includingpartiesand powwows.
In
my
old neighborhood.Peaches
at fourmonths soon became
a source oftroublewhen
spring arrived, assome
people objected to herromping around
aswe went down
ourdead-end
street.We had
started in winter, the streetswere
empty,snow covered and
quiet,and
I let her run along as Iwalked
to the store.Summer
brought people outon
their porches,suddenly
aliveon
the street again.A new Lebanese
family at the cornercame
out innumbers
(anumber
ofyoung
lads with stones infi
Volume
18,2002Chemim
Alternatifitheir
hands on
ahot July day)toaccusePeaches
ofdefilingtheirlawn,asI
waved
whiteplasticbags
in self-defense:someone
witha small engine repairshop
inhis garageon
theopposite cornercame
outand smashed
a chair against hisbalcony
towarn me
of theconsequences
should Peachescome on
his property: the people upstairs called the police becausemy dog was
noton
a leash. I decided aftermany happy
years theretomove and
trysomething
else.First
we
set out forwide open
spaces,and
for the bush.We soon found
that lifeon
the roadwas even more
tricky. Ingoing
acrossCan-
ada,we found
thatmost campgrounds
are suspicious ofdogs and do
notencourage
them, let alone letthem
run. Stops at the parksaround
the GreatLakes down
logging roadswere
better.Living inthecountrywasn't easy or ideal either, with regard todogs,
and we
spent a winter in the ruralOttawa
Valley.Most dogs
in theneighborhood roamed
unsupervised across the roadsand
fields, inand
out ofback
yards.Although
Ihad been
careful not to allowPeaches
to get pregnant, itwas
a strayhound from
across the tracks thatfound
her outback one
night in anunguarded moment. And
although thepuppies were
cuteand
bright, Ihad
tohave
her fixed afterwardsbecause
thehounds would
not stayaway
otherwise.My
landlordcomplained
thathe had
never seen somuch dog
slutaround
his property: half the strays in thecounty wanted
tomark
itafterPeaches
arrived. Itwas
abit ofamess
inthe spring.
And
so I thought the Glebe,amore
civilized place with parksknown
tobe dog-friendly,
might
beacompromise
solution.Perhaps because
theGlebe seems
to smileon
dogs,we hoped
to find here acombination of
urbanand
rural spacesand
attitudes,something much more
relaxed than the troubled streets ofVanier
or theroaming and packing
behaviorof
country dogs.Spring
May and June were
ourfirst exploratorymonths
intheGlebe and
at first, itseemed we had found
theoptimum combination
ofattitudeand
spaces for dogs.As we became more
familiar, itbecame
apparent thatwhat
appeared to be a 'free' park or area to aneophyte was
in fact a highly contested space,involving neighbors withconflicting ideas ofthepriori- tiesofthese parks.9There
aremany
parks withinwalking
distance of ourVolume18, 2001 9
Alternate Routes
home, some
with posted times for dogs,such
asCentral Park (Patterson Creek),some owned by
the National CapitalCommission.
1" onlyone
that is informallydesignated "kids
and
families only."some
include biketrails
and
rivers,where dogs
run free anytime; there aremany
trailsaround Landsdowne
Park,where dogs
can unofficially runwhen
there areno
crowds.Almost immediately
Ifound
that cyclistscomplain
about the dogs,dog owners complain about
the cyclists, people withyoung
childrencomplain
about both,picnickerstry to maintainthe integrity oftheir ter- ritory,and
joggerscompete
with cyclistsand dogs
for space inmost
of these parks.At
thesame
timedogs seemed
to bewelcomed
allup and down Bank
St..
on
both sides,from Lansdowne
Park to theQueensway. There
arebowls of
waterleft outforpassingdogs by
theshop owners on
hot days.Even some
ofthe panhandlers sittingon
the sidewalkhave dogs
(and there aresometimes two
every blocknow,
asopposed
tonone
15 years ago).When
Igo
inthesmoke shop
with Peaches, they give heracookie overthecounter firstthing.She now
leaps for thecounterevery timewe
walk
in.At
another store, awoman came
out to tellme
I didn'thave
to tiemy dog
outside, that shewas welcome
tocome
in, itwas
air condi- tioned.She now jumps up on everyone"s
counter, lookingfor cookies. Ishould restrain her perhaps but
most
people are quitehappy
tohave
adog jump up and
say hello.Many
apologize to her for nothaving
any- thingfor her.Dogs
are alsowelcome
insome
local pubs.At one
place, ata semi- private birthday party, therewere dozens
of partygoers, balloons, streamers,a blues band,and
four dogs.The
staffhad bought
Kibbles 'n Bitsand
cookies so thedogs
could share in the party. After getting toknow
each other,theytore allaround
the barall night. Casualcustomerscame wandering
in, looking like theyhad
never seen anything like it.The dogs were
like the kidsat awedding
party, running inside, outside, after each other, sittingon
thebenches by
the wall,jumping up on
the tables out back.A yappy
terrier keptup
anannoying
bark, butsomeone remarked
that hewas
"barkingin time with the music."In
one dog
park", awoman
toldme
that this areareminds
her of Francewhere
she is from, in thateveryone
has at leastone
dog.We
talked about Pablo Picasso
and
his great love of dogs; the fact that hein Volume18,
2002
would
givedogs
to his friends as gifts so that therewould always be
adog where he was
visiting."The French
are crazyabout
theirdogs and
bringthem
everywhere." shesaid."Even
inBritain, butnotsomuch, you
can't bring
them
in the restaurants" (SeeAppendix A.
also 4/12/99:A17).
She
hasbeen coming
to the park with herdogs
formany
yearsand
said shehasnever seenany
trouble,but sheis nothappy
about the signsgoing up
recently,which
prohibitdogs
during certain hours duringthesummer. As
it turns out. thenew
rules are a sign ofthings tocome,
as thissummer was
unique in its attention to dogs,and dog
controls, in the city.Another
early informant, a university professorwho owns
ahouse backing on one
oftheparks.12gave
anexample
ofhow
thingscangetout of hand,and dogs
canget abad name. She
toldme
about herdog
Buster,who
inmost ways
is obedientbuthasone
problem.When he was
threemonths
oldwe were
in the park,and
therewas
aworkman
there witha sandwich, a salami sand- wich,in hishand and
Busterjumped up and grabbed
it.He's been
imprinted:now whenever anyone
bringsany food
out hegoes
forit. LastyearIwas walking him
attheArboretum and
therewere
fourmiddle aged women
there, with can- vasesand
easels,having
a picnic. Buster ran overand grabbed
asandwich and
ranoff.At
firsttheywere
upsetbut then thought italittle funny, until itcame
out that the sand-wich belonged
to this diabeticwoman who needed
her spe- cial diet.As we were
talking Buster ran throughand grabbed
anothersandw
ich. Thistime theywere
notlaughingand
started saying"controlyour dog"
(I couldn't)and
Iwas
trying to get
him when
Bustercame
tearing throughand
took the third sandwich.At
this point their eyeswere
red with rageand theywere
yellingatme and
I'm thinking "pickup your damn sandwiches
don't leavethem on
theground"
but then I finally got Buster to
come
overand
tookhnn away. When we were
alonemy
angercame
outand
I started yelling athim
"don'tyou EVER do
anything likethat tome
again'
when
aman
stopped to accuseme
of abusingmy
dog... I finally got
home and
thought ofgoing
to the bagelVolume18,
2001
11AlternateRoutes
shop
to getthosepoor women some more
sandwiches, but Ijust couldn't
go back
there...As
shewas
tellingme
this, ayoung
family satdown
atthe otherend
of theparkand began unpacking
a picnic. Busterimmediately
started drift-ing in their direction but his
owner
gothim back and
puthim
in the house, justto be safe.1
soon began
hearingcomplaints myself,when walking
withthe dog.Hans
is a contractor in his 50swho bought
ahouse
inthemiddle
ofthe Glebe.He
hasno
pets:he
says hethinks there aremore dog owners
per capita in theGlebe
thananywhere
in the world.12 His wife is worried about the blackLab
next door at the frat house, says thedog
is"crazy"and has bitten people. Carl
covered
hisfrontlawn
with agarden, as "it's the onlyway
tokeep
thedogs
off."and he
is tiredof having
to pickup
after people'spets. His favoritenew
addition isthe short, bristlyRagosa
rosesthathug
thesidewalk, like "natural barbed wire."Another
informant.Buddy,
liveson
the east side ofthe Glebe, near abusy
late-night corner. His dog,which he had owned
for 15 yearsand
traveled thecountry with, died lastyear. Hisdog had
hitchedtrainswith him. stopped intruders,been
shotby
crazy neighbors, stareddown
cou- gars,had
died withoutmuch
pain,and now
sitson Buddy's mantle
inan urn.Buddy
saved atomcat
during the IceStorm and
that's his only petnow.
He's upsetat peoplewho
don't pickup
after their dogs.One
night hewas
sittingon
hisporch when
adog came
alongand
squatteddown, owner
standing behind."The
cat tore intohim and
started scratchinghim
up... thedog
took offso fasthe
didn't finish his shit... theowner
yelled atme:
'Hey.your
cat attackedmy
dog'and
I said. I don't seeyou
holdingany
baggie inyour hand
pal.keep your dog
offmy lawn and
pissoff.and
he did."Buddy
hasbeen known
tocome down from
his porch at night topunch
thelights outofrowdy
passingdrunks and
assortedpunks,and
thedog owner
got out ofthere fastenough.Buddy
is also about sixfoottwo
withahealthyswagger.A
signon
hislawn
declaresittobe a 'Crap-Free Zone.'1312 Volume18.
2002
I could begin to see that the
mix of
cityand
parks,which
I thoughtwould
be ideal forme and
the dog. couldprove more
contested than Ihad
imagined.Summer
Some
people insistthatdogs
should be leashed oralways
'undercontrol.'But
thingstodayin theyear2000
intheGlebe
areunder
control,at least ascompared
to this letter to the editorfrom 100
years ago.May
29, 1900, in support oftheenforcement
of a taxon dog
owners. Itshows
(along with otherletters overthe past100
years publishedby
the Citizen asamillennium
feature) thatdogs have always been
aconcern
inthecit- ies.A
resident ofbusy Lower Town
(at that time theGlebe was
still a rural shire), thecomplainant
wrotethat hisneighborhood
"is fairly pol- luted with yelping, barking,howling and
fightingmongrels of no
breed inparticular."He
asks:"What
right hasaman
tokeep
an unclean, noisyand
oftendangerous animal on
the street,impeding
travel, defiling lawns,flowers,door-steps-
in facteverything in sight.Would
such nui- sancesbeendured from human
beings?Yet
the depredationscommitted by
thosedogs
aremore unspeakable
thananythingahuman being
could do."He goes on
to argue that "dogs are unnecessary in a citywhere
police protectionispaidforand
furnished"and concludes
that"ifpeople arebound
tomake themselves
disagreeable in acommunity,
letthem pay
forit,make
the tax prohibitive..." (6/9/99: B5).14I
found
thatdogs have now been banned
at ourdepartment
at Carle- tonUniversity.No dogs
intheLoeb
buildingallowed
atall, accordingto decree engineered in part, I suspect,by
a pastfunctionarywho
isaverse to dogs. It didn't help that Ishowed up
withPeaches
in his office. Hisbody
stiffened like a boardand
hesqueaked
in a strangled voice "keep thatdog away,
I can'thave dogs
around, itgets intheair..." It's truethat theairqualityand
ventilation inthedeparmient
islessthandesirable,but there ismore
to it than that.There
is a historyof
people bringing theirdogs
there.And
Iimagine
therehave been
other complaints.Forthefirstwinter (Peaches
was born
Dec. 1. 1 gotheratfive weeks, just in time for winter classes) I tookmy dog
to classand everywhere
else, in
my
pocketand
latermy
jacket inside, with abag
oftoys, ballsand
paper towels.She peed on
the grad coordinator's floor,and
took adump
atthe PoliScidepartment (which some
people agreedwas
apoliti-Volume18,
2001
13Alternate Routes
cal act), but generally
was
prettygood
in class(she enjoyed quantitativemethods because
the speakerwas slow paced and
quiet; shehated con-temporary
theorybecause
thearguments and
debates charged theroom and
shecouldn'trelax, norcould anyone). I take itas partly ourfaultthat theLoeb
building has formally barred dogs.,:>Mike's Place, the grad pub. also barred
dogs soon
after IgotPeaches
(1
had
looked forward tojoining a tradition ofowners
with theirdogs
there),
because
theMuslim
studentswho now
use nearby Porter Hall as their prayerroom
objected todogs
being in the bar.Walking
thedog around
Carleton.I see theseand
othernew Canadians
lookingatherwith fear,something
I neversaw
before.To
us. it isa lossof freedom.I talked toa handler
from
theCanadian Guide Dogs
for theBlind.He parked
hisvan
allsummer
across the streetfrom
us, using the leafyshade
to coolthedogs
in thetruck astheywalk and
traintwo
ata time.He
toldme
theychose
this spot for itsmix
ofside-streetsand Bank
St.,forits"lines" or straightsidewalks withclear intersectionsstretching over
many
blocks.They
arefrom Manotick. which makes
theGlebe
handy,and having been
trainingdogs
in the city for nine years.They have many walking
sites. Iaskhim which
isthe favorite."The
Glebe."he
says. "It has the rightmix and
thepeople areaware of
us. they try to help out.Sometimes by moving
theirdogs
out oftheway. which
is notwhat we want
(for training purposes).The dogs
here are quiet, the streetsare agood mix
oftreesand
city..."The
worst area?"Around
ParkdaleMarket, although it'sbeen
getting better the pastfew
years.You
getmore
aggressive peopleand dogs
there,thebigfour: Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Shepherds.
Dobermans."
"The people
there areaware
ofus, butsometimes
theirdogs
are too aggressive."Eventually
dogs
are takendowntown
as well.Around Bank and
Gloucester, there areno
parks,few
trees, lots ofasphaltand
cars."The people
there don'thave
pets really.And
they don'tseem
to see us. it's as ifwe
weren'tthere."He
tellsme
thatincreasingly, they arerunning into situations in pub-lic places like malls,
where
"people just don't expect to see adog
there.And
itfreaksthem
out.We have
toleave."I ask
him what
kind of people,and
he answers, after amoment.
"Asians.
Muslims,
other, uh.new
Canadians."14 Volume18.
2002
Last winter, a chain of
convenience
marts narrowlymissed
being sued after a blindman and
his guidedog were
refused entranceby
anemployee
for religious reasons.We
leave offwondering where
legisla- tion,human
rightsand
theNew Canadians
will affect things. Willdogs have
tostayintheirapartments?As
thesummer wore on
Ifound more and more
restrictions.The newspapers were
full ofdisputes about dogs. I read in early July thatMontreal was
considering abylaw
to classifydog pee
as pollution soowners would be
charged with pollutingon
their daily rounds.Another dog owner commented: "Wow,
I didn'tthink thatMontreal was
thatup-tight.
So perhaps
they'lloutlaw
pigeons, squirrels,and maybe
they'lldo something
about their rats, too. I can see a bigmarket
for flushable indoor facilities fordogs and
cats (thereby contributing to the water shortage)and
for professional animal potty trainers" (Thisbylaw was
scrapped, see 16/7/99).A
siege mentalityseems
to existatthedog
park.Ten
yearsago
therewere no dogs
allowed, thendogs were allowed
freely, thensome
neigh- borscomplained
about that (to the point ofdropping
little red flagswherever
theysaw dog
droppings)and now new
regulations, createdata seriesoftown
hall meetings, prohibitdogs
duringthe day, to 7pm. Over
the past
weeks
Ihave
letPeaches
run duringunauthorized times, usuallywhen
there isnobody
around. Ihave been
in the park atodd
times Iguess(ca
1pm and
11pm),because
thepark isoften empty.Usually
you
can see a small paradeheaded down
the street at 6:45toward
thepark,peopleand
theirdogs.At
about 8pm
theparkisflooded withdogs and
owners.There
are 15-20dogs
(and their respectiveown-
ers) at the height of the rush,
crowding
packs ofromping dogs and
cliques ofowners crowded between
the treesand
the water.The crowd
tends toform
a large circle, discussing daycare, teachers, kids' school,and
talking withand
about their dogs.On
nights near the fullmoon, from
the distance, itlooks likean Occultceremony,
withdogs.One
night a freelance journalist forC.IOH hopped
off his bikeand
started filmingthe
dogs
in thefading light.He
explained hewas doing
a featureon
thenew summer dog
debate at theArboretum,
also Kanata.He showed me
his video ofdogs
runningaround having
fun. inand
out ofthe water.He
has lived inVancouver. Winnipeg.
Montreal,Toronto and
else- where.He
saidOttawa
hasthemost
liberaldog bylaws
inthecountry.Volume18,2001 15
Alternate Routes
It's only a few
dogs
that areproblems and
theywould
still be around, leash lawsor no. 1 say.whileobservingadog
runoutof the parkaftera cyclist,barkingathim and
chasinghim down
the road.Another
night in earlyAugust
at 7pm
1was
the first in the park,fol-lowed by
aman
loping along with a Player's Light cigarette tin in his hand, precededby
apuppy
Spaniel, lightbrown.
,(1 His last Spaniel diedlast Christmas, he told
me, and
he just got thenew puppy
yesterday.Scamp
is 12weeks
oldwith longcoltishlegs thatseem
tomake
itimpos-
sible to stand, so
he
justflopsaround
joyfully.Cal has
been coming
here ten years.Always
has abag
of cookies withhim and
extrabaggies."Back
then theyused
to hitme
with$48
finesall the time.No dogs
allowed in thepark.Leash
orno
leash.One bylaw guy came
up.he was
a big guy.
and
sitsdown
withme
to giveme
awarning
aboutmy
dog.Sat
down
righthereon
thisbench where
we're sittingnow.
. ."Teams
ofthem would come down and
give tickets, look for licenses."He was
at themeetings
lastyear."It
was
neighbor againstneighbor.The
things people saidabout each other, theywere
ateach
other's throats. Allbecause
ofadog
park. This park is perfect fordogs,you can
seefrom end
toend,you have
thewateron one
side(which was
anargument
at the meetings: "is the waterand
inletpartofthe park?"
Of
courseit is. especially in winter!)and
afenceon
theother, onlyone way
inand
out..."He
pointsout ahouse
acrossfrom
thepark,one
that othershave men-
tionedto
me.
asbeingthehome
oftheprimary complainant
in therecent battles."She must have
nothing better to do.She
calls the police ifthere's adog
off leash at fiveminutes
to seven.What
can theydo? They have
tocome
down..."He
hasn't gotany
ticketsunder
thenew
regime, but then again.Scamp
justarrivedtoday.There
isa nicewalking
circlefrom my
house, alongthe north side ofLandsdowne
Park, through the fenced indog
runby
the baseball field,and up
into theGlebe
east, thenback
through Centraland
Patterson Parks. Despite the throngs of people at the Exhibition in August, the greenspacesare relatively clear of people, sothedog
can run through (or16 Volume18,
2002
around) the
accumulating
layers of pizzaboxes and pop
cans leftby
the tourists (geeks)and
thebeerbottlesand
sardinecans leftby
the carnies.We walk
further north alongO'Connor.
I letPeaches go
at Central Park,and one day
awoman
ina limegreen pantsuitcame walking down
the hill
from one of
themansions on
the avenue.Her dog was
off the leashalso."Look
at that sign!" shecalledout tome
acouple oftimes.Sure
enough
therewas
anew
set of posted hours for thedogs
in the park.No dogs
off leashfrom noon
to4 pm.
"I've
been
livinghere40
years." she said,adding. "Iwas
a littlechildwhen
Imoved
here.""Itdoesn't
seem
possible" I ventured."This is
my
park.We own
it.Leased
it to the city for99
years.Jim
(Watson,Ottawa mayor) promised me
this wouldn't happen. He'sgoing
toget acall
from me. Maybe
we'lljusttaketheparkback and develop
it."All our
dogs around
herealways
ranaround.Never used
leashes."I
asked
herwho
isresponsible,who
hasbeen
complaining."Not
Dr. (soandso) over there across the park, notJudge
(soandso) overthere, notJim
over there orFrank
orany one
ofthe old neighbors.It'stheyuppies."
A new house owner
joinedus. aman
in his50s withan
old Collie."It's the
whole
city,"he
said, "not just theGlebe.""Anyway,
I'mgoing
to call Jim. They'd better take thesesignsdown.
They
say theyneed
the park free ofdogs
for the seniors.Well
I'm a seniorenough and my dog can do what
shewants
inmy own back
yard,and
ifI forgettopickup once
in awhile sowhat?"
I say I'llbe seeing herlater.
"Ifnot, you'll hear
from me.
I'm a bitch."Thisdiscord
seemed
tobe
extendingtothedogs.Peaches was
gettinginto
more and more
scrapes.One day
a Terrier mix,18Rex,
ranyapping
across the street to run afterPeaches
whilewe were
playing ball at the park. Aftera while hisowner came
over.By
this time theRex had
runPeaches
raggedand
shewas
holdinghim down
for relief, panting.He
started snarling
and snapping
at her so she bithim and
squishedhim
alittle harder.
I calledher off.
The
terrier startedyapping
in Peaches' ear with a piercing, high- pitched stabbing sound.Volume18,2001 17
Alternate Routes
"Stopit. stop it."yelled theowner.
"God
I hate thatsound"
shesaid.Peaches had
anotherrun-in withRex
the terrieron
anotherday. Afteraminute
or soofinitial peace, with bothofftheir leash.Rex
leaptup
and triedtotakea tear outof Peaches'throat. Luckily,her thick furprevented thatand
in asecond
shewas on
the littledog. holdinghim down,
whilehe
furiously barkedand snapped
at her. 1 pulled her off, shewas
upsetand
inshock
atthe sudden, viciousattack.Before
coming
to theGlebe
with itsdog
parks.Peaches had
neverbeen
inadog
fight. Sincewe
arrived,she hasbeen
attackedby
a Pit Bull, a black longhaired dog.and
anotheryoung
femaleHusky,
although it'shard to say
who
started that one. Itseems
that every timewe go
to the park, there is potential for contested territory.18Many dogs
are familiar to each other, but everyday we meet more and more new
ones, adog
societyin transition. I thinktheyareall insecure
and
defensive(meaning more
likely to fight)because
theyhave no
sense ofhome
territory.Unlike
dogs
in the country,which
relate toand
defend their territory through displaysand
arrangements, thesedogs have no
territory to calltheir
own.
19 everythingisup
for grabs.There
is also the instinctual behavior involvedwhenever dogs
meet, oftenbeyond
theken
oftheircityowners:It isnot simple experience thatteaches an animal territorial boundaries
which he
will cross athis peril.Eskimo dogs
in EastGreenland
live in packs,each pack
defending rigor- ously a social territory...immature males wander
about, violating boundariesand
continually taking severe punish-ment
in consequence.Yet
theyseem
unableto learn,despite themost
bitter experience,where
togo and where
not to.Then, however,
theymature
sexuallyand immediately
learnall boundaries... firstcopulation, firstterritorial defense,
and
first
avoidance
ofthenext pack's territory" all occurrapidly insequence (Ardrey
1970: 25).The
confusion of behaviors,human and
animal, instinctualand
arbi- trated, and politicized, can be seen inLos
Angeles:"Welcome
toLos
Angeles. City ofDog
Parks,where
they'll eatyou up and
spityou
outand
eatyou up
again. (Or. asmy
favorite linefrom
the Bible. ProverbsIS Volume18,2002
26:11, puts it: 'As a
dog
returneth to hisvomit, soa foolreturnethtohis folly.')Nothing
divides neighbor against neighbor, celebrity against celebrity, like thedog
park issue. Celebritydog
trainerMatthew Marg-
olis suggests that
we might
notbe doing
ourdogs any
favors: "I don't love 'em," Margolis says ofdog
parks. "There's a lot ofdog
fights, a lotofdiseases.
Even
ifyour dog
is vaccinated,how do you know
all the otherdogs
are?It'smore
for thepeople
than thedogs""{SALON Maga-
zine, see
Appendix
B. itals. mine).2 "One neighbor
takesherwalks
to thedog
parkreligiously, shemeets
differentpeopleatdifferenttimes. Separated withyoung
kids, shemeets
with themany
other parents in various circumstances to talk about schools, kids, and I don'tknow what
else (Iam
not privy to these cir- cles).21 Early on.my neighbor
regardedPeaches and me
with suspicion and not a little animosity.When we
firstapproached
her to talk about thisproject, she said "I don'twant
to hearabout it"and walked away.
22When
herdog jumped
atPeaches
trying to get her going, she used herHusky
snarl in response..."We'd
betterkeep them
apart then' saidmy
neighbor. I'mnot
convinced
shewas
talking entirelyaboutthe dogs.23Most
people I talk to areaware
Iam doing
researchon
dogs."No
matterhow
neutrally they are perceived,most
fieldworkers are never completely acceptedby
their subjects. Shortof
conducting covert field-work where
their research identities areunknown,
ethnographersbecome
"marginal natives." partmember,
part guest... (rather thanbecoming)
a flyon
the wall (researchers should) carefullymonitor how
participants
come
toregard us" (Arlukeand
Sanders 1996: 23).The dog
park, theneighborhood and
this project all involvewhat Goffman
calls "temporary tenancy," of"territoriesoftheself." thatis. to be involved"measured
in seconds,minutes
orhours, informallyexerted, raisingconstant questionsastowhen
theclaim beginsand when
ittermi- nates*r(1971:29).
Another
nightatthe bar. a smalldog jumped up
at Peaches.She
took afastsnarl atherand
then theybothsettleddown. A
waitress referred to her asbeing
"aggressive." I laterheard that otherpeoplehad made
vari- ous complaints aboutmy dog and
certain staffhad formed
particularpro andcon
attitudes.24I think
we had
been too frequent visitors over thesummer.
Iwas
told later thatone
patronwas complaining because Peaches made
hisdog
Volume 18.2001 19
Alternate Routes
"uncomfortable." another that she
was "always
there." another that shewas
bothering diners (she doeshave
atendency
to stare). In public pur- suit of our studyon
dogs,we had become obvious and
ubiquitous." Ilater learned that
Peaches had been
barred.2(AThe owner
regretfullyinformed me
that itwas
saidshehad become
"tooterritorial."2This bar is similar to Al's bar described
by
Gusfield as a "creatorof
intimacy."With
alcohol as "dissolving reservebetween
strangers."he
notesthat self-expressiveness isquickertoreach actionand
displaythan in soberer places. "It is a placewhere
friendliness can be fostered: it is also a placewhere
hostilityand
antipathy are closerto expression.Both
helpand abuse
are there as tangible possibilities" (1996:140).A dog
amplifies these possibilities: "It is often notedhow
quicklyhumans
can feeland show
strongemotions
fornew
animals they encounter,and
that these feelings aresometimes
as intenseifnot strongerthan those feltforhumans"
(Arluke and Sanders
1996: 27).People
had competed
for Peaches' attention at this place since shewas
fiveweeks
old.engaging
herin all sorts ofgames
(she isveryplay- ful): butwhen
shebarked
ata waitress(in defianceofano-barkingrule)I
knew
her timetherewas
almost done.Later,aftershe
was
barred. Itriedtyingheroutside,butpeoplewould
not leaveher alone, so she resortedto barking then nipping atthe worst ones. It tookme some
time towork
herout ofthatreaction: shewas
not used to being tiedon
a short leadand
it (they) scared her.2 *One
nightwas
particularly ghastly as people streamedback from
theEx down Bank
St. I lookedout thewindow and
therewas
awoman looming
outof the night in the reflected lightsof
the bar. holding a largepurple heart-shaped
balloon inone hand and
a child in the other, yellingand waving
the balloon. Iwent
outsideand
herhusband was
therethreateningto call the police, a kid in a strollerwas
crying, theyhad
obviouslybeen
through a big day.Peaches had grabbed
the kid's hand, not hurt him,when
thegroup
had stoppedand surrounded
her. I talkedto Peachesand
theboy.who was
lessupset than his parents,who were
vergingon
hyste- ria. Aftersuitablewarnings,apologies,admonishments and
the like,they continued the long hikeback
totheir car.Later, tied outside the grocery store, she
was
harassedby Buddy,
of the "Crap-Free Zone." Itwas
dusk, shewas watching some
parcels,and
I observedfrom
thecash asBuddy came
alongfrom
the barwith his girl-20 Volume18.
2002
Alternatifs friend,
and
bent over to pet the dog.He
startedby
patting her head.Then, looking
up
athisgirlfriend,he
took herhead
inboth hishands and rubbed
around, giving her agood workout
behind the ears. I almost ran outtotellhim
to stop, butthenhe letgo.He
then reacheddown
againto grab her head,and
she bit him.No
blood,no
marks, just a warning."Your dog
bitme!" he
yelled asIcame
outofthestore. Itoldhim
hewas
being too aggressive,and
thathewas
drunk.To
correctherfear of being leashed I spent severalmonths
afterthat tyingheratvarious places withmyself
nearby, ableto talkand
maintain eye contact with Peaches, then Iremoved myself more and more from
the situations.Also, I tried gettingmore
peopletopet her while holding heron
a short lead. All ofthese exerciseswork
bestafter she hashad
agood
runand
isnot tooexcitable. Still. Iwish
Icould advisepeople,who
takeour
dogs
tobe
theirown,
thatone
should notapproach
strangedogs
tied
anywhere,
let aloneon
the street. Itseems
the peoplewho
cannot resist this aretheones who know
little ornothing aboutdogs
(in other incidents, thiswas
thecase).I
remember some
fifteenyearsago David
the baker,who had
aHusky
withone
greenand one
blue eye, quite purebred, thathe would
tie out- side hisshop
inOttawa
southin the winter,on
a shortchain neara dog-house under
a tree. Ihad
seen thedog
anumber
of timesand always admired
itand one
day, withsome
apprehension, Iapproached
it as itwas
lying there. It didn'tmove,
nor growl,just lay there with its blue/green eyesstaring straight into
mine
as Ileaned overtopat itonthehead
withmy
glove.With an unconcerned
motion,thedog
raiseditshead and clamped
itsjaws down
tighton
the inside ofmy
glove,where
thethumb and
first fingermeet, not touchingthe skin. It kept surveyingme
calmly as I tried to getmy hand
out ofthe glove (impossible,he had my hand
locked inside the glove)and
so I slowly liftedhim
until hewas
almost off the ground, thinkinghe would
let go.Not
a chance.He
just kept lookingatme.
untilDavid saw what was going on and came
out ofthe shop. "Lethim go" he
said,and
thedog dropped
tothe ground, satand
continuedtoeye me.
Iwent
insideand
gotsome
bread.Peaches'
mother
Trixie. also aHusky, was
anotherwho
didn't bark.She would
bite, but not hurt people. Ihave
since learned this oralcom-
munication is aHusky
trait.When
Trixie'spuppies were
afew weeks
old. aneighbor
and
his daughtercame
tosee them. Despitewarnings
not togettooclose,theman
goton
allfoursand crawled toward
thepuppies.VolumeIX, 2001 21
AlternateRoutes
Tnxie
stayed veryclosetohim. "Don'tworry
Iknow
all about dogs. I'm an experton wolves"
he said as his daughter pickedup one
ofthe tiny puppiesand promptly dropped
it on the floor. Before thepup had
achance
toyelp. Trixiehadclamped
herjaws
overthefather's face,cover- ing it. For aday
ortwo
hehad
the imprints offour large canineson
his face,butno damage
done."She
bitme!" he
yelled, but thenhe
tooktwo
ofthe puppies lateron.Just asour social situations
were going
through transitionsat thebarand
thedog
park, thedog
dayshad
truly arrived that July in the press;dogs were
a hot item for discourse.One
leading itemwas
a coverstory in the AtlanticMonthly ("Why Your Dog
PretendstoLike You") which
argued (using canine genetics) thatdogs
are "social parasites." thatwe
are
up
againstan "evolutionary sharpshooter"who
has learnedtoexploit our hospitality with a complicatedmix
ofdominance and
submission, purely instinctual behavior inheritedfrom
the wolf:"We
areprimed
to seizeon what
are. in truth, fundamental,programmed
behaviors indogs and
read intothem
extravagant tales of loveand
fidelity. Oftendogs need do no more
thanbetheir simpleselvestoamaze and
beguile usso."The
author pointed to the unnaturalness of theurban
milieu as a big cause forproblems
with dogs, such as "barrier frustration"among
sleddogs and
otherrunning breedswhich do
notgetenough
exercise,result- ing in destructive behavior,and "yuppy-puppy syndrome"
inwhich working young
couplesbuy dogs and
leavethem
aloneallday.29He
alsoshowed how
selective breeding, through "obsessive preoccupation with physicalappearance
and breed definitions" has served to create amore
aggressive animal that is alsoprone
to a host of unique ailments (Budi-ansky
1999)."'The
storyresulted inaflood ofletterstotheOttawa
('itizen overtwo weeks and was
the subject oftwo columns. Two
letterswere
attributed to a familypet. All ofthe lettersdecriedtheargument
thatdogs were
act- ing solely out of instincts for self-preservation,and gave examples of dog
rescues, selflessness (altruism?),and
real affectionand
emotion.People's affection for theirpets
became more
apparent in reaction to this article.;iOf
the 169 items referring todogs
in the Citizen in the sixmonths from September
to February (found inaddendum Newspapers
-A Coded
Indexand
cited such as | 1 9/99Al
)).66
oralmost halfargued formore freedom
fordogs,and
35were
generally favorable informationVolume18,
2002
Attentat pieces,
and
six told stories ofdog
heroism.Some 45
items called formore
lawsorconfinement
fordogs, soalmost two-thirdswere
in support of'doggierights.'As
columnistJohn Robson
putit:"As Pavlov showed, any argument
that animals are
machines
applies to people too.and
frankly I'mmore
certain
your dog
lovesyou
thanyour
wife does" (23/7/99:A15).
Later, this affection
came
out in anothernewspaper
debate,where
a front coverfeaturefocusedon
thedebatebetween
Catholics,who do
not believethatdogs go
toheaven,and
Anglicans,who have
recently stated that they do.One Anglican
ministerargued
that sincedogs
can't sin (no freewill)theymust
beallowed
intoheaven,also:"Mean dogs
thatattack peoplealsowarrantaplaceinheaven,because
such behavioris often the result ofpoor
training, or reflects a personalitytrait ofthe dog'sowner"
(3/10/99:
Al.
also seeAppendix
C).Fall
The
last longweekend day we went
totheArboretum. Two young women and
an olderman were
talkingnearthe 'dog beach'while theirdogs
ran around.We
startedtalkingaboutdog
issuesand
thedogs
raninand
outofthewater,acrossthebike pathtothebenches where we
were,and back
again.One
ofthewomen
said that cyclists don'tslow down
at this spot, a turnon
the path, asthey should. I noted a coupleofcyclists zipthrough, ignoringthe dogs.She was
quite upsetat thefishermenwho
leave lineand hooks
along the shoreline."Hooks
this big!" she said, indicating a largejig."A dog
gotcutlast year!" Ioften takemy dog
fishing, butI didn'tmention
it.As we were
talkingmore dog owners
approached,mainly young
Car- leton students apparently.Within
10minutes
therewere
15-20dogs
at thespot.One group
ofsixor so raninand
outofthe water alongthepath while anothergroup
torearound
the parkbenches
in circles: a pair of Jack Russellterriersstartdiggingahole.We
stoodaway from
themelee
while acoupleof owners
attempted to call theirdogs
orimpose
order.They soon
giveup and we watched
inamazement
as the packs ofdogs
torearound
this small space, inbetween, over
and
undereverything.Volume is,2001 23