Tuoi Tre News Reporters Have Been Harassing Everyday Citizens
by Joe Fotalattee
Well-intentioned reporters at Tuoi Tre continue to miss the mark in documenting leashed dogs going for leisurely walks with their owners. The newspaper unfairly shames everyday citizens as they stroll parks and neighborhoods with their gentle dogs. The newspaper publicly shamed families and pet owners in expose-style photographs in which all had their dogs on leashes.
In lazy reporting, they fail to confront irresponsible owners leaving waste behind on sidewalks or in public park grass areas. The reporters failed to clarify the lack of existing leash laws and enforcement. Generally, a leashed dog, under the control of its owner, does not need a muzzle. Instead, they harassed responsible pet owners by attempting to embarrass individuals.
Why do they have an obsession with muzzles while ignoring the real issue of strays, irresponsible pet owners, and lack of leash laws?
Irresponsible pet owners do not leash their dogs, let alone accompany them on walks. These terrible owners allow their dogs to roam the streets. Strays and untrained dogs attack domesticated pets, and they are precisely why a well-trained dog is unsafe with a muzzle on the streets of Ho Chi Minh. A muzzled, domesticated, trained dog is defenseless during a vicious attack by a stray dog.
Focusing on the issue of unleashed dogs and strays polluting the neighborhood would be too reasonable for Tuoi Tre. They would rather troll for attention and cause division instead of addressing a societal issue ethically. Instead, Tuoi Tre has joined the Tik Tok trend of playing gotcha, and uses social media shaming to get a rise out of their readers. They need to get back to journalism. Although I’m encouraged by this attempt at creating the news, this one missed the mark.
Let’s train our pet owners to leash their dogs in public spaces, consider leash laws and request animal control to pick up stray dogs with no collars.
Shaming responsible pet owners does not solve the problem of strays and lack of leash laws.