Apparently my ‘Star Letter’ in last months France Magazine struck a nerve with someone. There was a response to my letter in the May issue and I had to read it a few times to realise that it is not really a response to my letter – because if it was, then they obviously only read the words dogs, holiday, swimming and France as their letter doesn’t really address what mine was about and that was to read more articles about where I could have an adventure with my dogs.
Here is the rant:
I think this lady really just wanted to rant about insensitive dog owners and she does make a couple of good points. However, whatever dogs get up to, it is usually down to the owner not being very responsible, not the dogs, whether they are English or French. On our first holiday abroad with the dogs we learned that dogs are not welcome, under any circumstances, on beaches with lifeguards. Fair enough – considering that most Spanish and French dog owners rarely pick up after their dogs or let them roam around to do what they want. I hate dog mess on the beach and always carry poo bags. Always. I would feel mortified to have my dog make a mess and not be able to clean up after it. I also do not allow my dogs to swim near children. Generally, my dogs are not interested in children and when they go swimming, they are actually swimming, not splashing around. I think children splash around more than my dogs. If dogs are not allowed on the beach, we find another one where they are allowed. As we don’t sunbathe, and I do not like to have my dogs in the sea for too long as it is not good for them to ingest salt water, we tend not to spend more than an hour going for a swim. Lakes are another matter as they are fresh water and we tend to swim for longer because it is safer. There are lakes that have beaches and we have been to a few. In the campsite at Navarrosse (near Biscarrosse), dogs were not allowed on the lake beach during high season. Considering there could be over 2,000 people at this campsite any one day during high season, that seems like a reasonable request. Dogs are allowed on the site, but not the beach. They even have a dog shower on site! I did ask if it was ok for our dogs to go for a swim and we were told it was fine as it was low season and there were not that many people there. The dogs loved it. However, if I had children, I would be more concerned about the bird mess on the beach and in the water. There were only a few places where our dogs could swim on Lake Annecy. When it is very hot, taking them for a swim is a good way to cool them off. There was a very small place where I could take them every day and everyone was fine with it as my dogs didn’t bother anyone. I did ask.
Funny how this lady only picked up on the swimming aspect of my letter as my biggest concern was being able to go for walks in the National Parks. I prefer to walk than swim and what better company than being able to take your dog with you on a trek. Unlike children, my dogs don’t whine about being too tired to walk. They love a walk and will go miles. If we get tired, we have a rest. They are also great in pubs, restaurants and cafes. My dogs don’t bark and they are well behaved, unlike some children I have seen on holiday. When eating out we try to always sit outside with our dogs and are surprised when we are allowed to be inside with them considering their size. The French are good like that.
By the way, I am not English. I am American. I just happen to have lived in England for over 30 years. I could rant about English people picking up dog poop and then throwing the bag in the woods where it will never decompose. Why pick it up in the first place if you are going to do that? There is a stick and flick policy at the woods where I take my dog to avoid that, but people still leave their bags out or won’t carry them. I also have issues about people not picking up dog mess from the beach as I live by the sea, but I am not one of those people. In fact, I tend to pick up rubbish washed on shore or left by others.
This is why I think this rant wasn’t directly aimed at me. How dare I want to have fun with my dogs when I am on holiday? I do not take my dogs on holiday necessarily for their benefit, but for mine, so why shouldn’t I be able to have a good time with them? I already avoid cities as it stresses them and me out and I can’t take them into museums or galleries or shops anyway. By taking my pets abroad, I am already limiting myself as to what I am able to enjoy while on holiday. I cannot go rafting or skiing or go on a teleferico with the dogs. So I eat out, go cycling, swimming and walking. Oh, and by the way, I do not expect to share my experiences with others unless they are doing the same thing. What an arrogant thing to say! But thank you for saying I should enjoy my holiday in France. Most of the time I have as the French have been very nice. Even the French park police were very nice when they kicked me out of the Regional Park. Not even French dogs are allowed in there! 🙂
Dream Big, Pack Lite 