Let’s address this upfront: I hold a strong aversion towards dogs. I can’t stand their odor and how they tend to jump onto my dry-clean-only pants. Their attempts to “get to know me” are especially unwelcome. (Unless it’s for medical purposes, such as checking for HPV, I prefer not to be poked in that area.) I don’t believe animals should be considered equal to humans, and it astounds me that pet surgeries costing $15,000 exist in a country where not everyone has access to healthcare.
I’ve always kept this dislike to myself because, in America, admitting that you don’t like dogs is almost akin to saying you support the Taliban. However, I recently discovered a community of like-minded individuals on the Dogfree Subreddit. While I’m not an avid Reddit user, the tagline of r/Dogfree, “We don’t like dogs,” immediately caught my attention. It was the first time I saw my most taboo opinion expressed so openly.
On my initial visit to the site, I found myself engrossed in reading posts. These typically consisted of news reports about dog bites, complaints about encountering dogs in public spaces, and frustrations about sidewalk feces, incessant barking, and other issues related to dogs. One post even declared, “The fact they breathe with their mouths open and tongues hanging is enough for me to want nothing to do with them.” As I delved deeper into the forum and saw others echoing my unpopular views, I was overwhelmed by the sense of being truly understood and the cathartic release it brought.
The subreddit’s frequently asked questions section includes a response to the common assumption that our dislike is solely directed towards unruly dogs and their oblivious owners. The moderators make it clear: “Though it might be a tough pill to swallow, we in this sub simply don’t like dogs.”
Several negative experiences have solidified my lifelong distaste for dogs. Aside from not liking them, I am also allergic to them. When I was 9 years old, I had to leave a friend’s slumber party early because her dachshund crawled across my pillow, causing my eyes to swell shut. I still remember the humiliation of having to call my parents, the drowsiness induced by extra-strength Benadryl, and the painful wheezing as I rinsed my face under the tap at 2 a.m. That incident taught me that it’s a dog’s world, and I’m merely living in it.
I’ve also had unsettling encounters with dogs that were supposedly “protecting” their owners. During my time in graduate school, my boyfriend’s roommate had a pitbull that would terrorize me whenever I visited, while the roommate would simply laugh it off and claim, “He’s friendly!” (Dogfree members despise when dog owners utter this phrase.) When we moved into our current house, our neighbor’s enormous dog mistook us for intruders and charged into our yard, barking uncontrollably. I screamed profanities, while the neighbor did nothing. This is probably why I never bothered to introduce myself to those neighbors.
None of these incidents were particularly dangerous, but they reinforced my perception that dogs are repulsive at best and threatening at worst. More recently, I had a conversation with a pediatric reconstructive plastic surgeon who recounted repairing the faces of children involved in horrific accidents. When asked what she would never do, given her professional experiences, she quietly replied, “Get a pitbull.” Unfortunately, most people don’t share these concerns. The majority of Americans own pets, with dogs being the most popular choice. Dog owners are often more emotionally attached to their dogs than they are to other animals or even some family members. In fact, if forced to choose, 39 percent of Americans would rather save their closest pet from death than a human being. While I may not comprehend this bond, I cannot argue against it. These sentiments contribute to a significant buildup of anti-dog sentiment, and r/Dogfree allows me to freely express my frustration.
According to an unofficial 2019 survey involving 2,000 self-proclaimed members, r/Dogfree’s 56,000 users are predominantly female (57 percent) and reside mostly in North America. People are drawn to the subreddit because they feel societal pressure to adore dogs or dislike how dogs often take precedence over humans, among other reasons. However, many simply have always disliked dogs. While most members are not allergic, a significant portion are afraid of certain breeds. It’s worth noting that r/Dogfree is not an anti-animal community: Less than a quarter of members are completely pet-free and intend to remain so, and many of them express a desire to care for cats.
One user, GemstoneWriter, a 19-year-old member for approximately nine months, finds dogs loud and filthy. However, she tries to approach dog owners with empathy, considering them “lost” rather than enemies (she requested to be identified only by her Reddit handle). She appreciates how the subreddit shows support for dog attack victims instead of defending the dog or the owner when incidents occur.
Emma Allum, a 41-year-old member from Southeast England, becomes unsettled when large dogs approach her or stare intently. She shared how she dislikes being licked by dogs and recounted moments when dogs suddenly barked in her ear from behind a garden fence while she was innocently walking by. It felt uncanny during our Zoom call to hear someone else voice the same sentiments. Whenever a dog licks me, all I can think about is when I can finally take a shower.
Allum’s fear of dogs intensified due to various distressing incidents, including an occasion when a dog attempted to sniff her baby son while he sat in his stroller and another incident where a dog charged towards her in a field. However, dogs are incredibly popular in her area, which means being afraid of dogs earns her the label of being somewhat foolish. On the subreddit, such negativity is absent.
The subreddit represents an example of a “negativity friendship,” a community forged by a shared dislike. (In politics, negative partisanship is a similar phenomenon.) Research studies, not including my participation, have revealed that hating the same thing brings people closer together than liking the same thing. We tend to value the social risk involved in expressing unsavory opinions, and when we find others who hold those opinions, we feel a stronger connection. In a world where almost everyone loves travel, hiking, and coffee, your tribe consists of those who detest what you detest. One study on this topic found, “Because of the potential social repercussions and relative rarity of revealing negative attitudes, perceivers view negative attitudes as especially informative.”
Strangely enough, the more time I spend on r/Dogfree, the more I discover my distaste for dogs, and the less I understand other perspectives. The forum constantly reminds me of new reasons why dogs are repulsive. While I don’t typically worry about being bitten by a dog, reading the subreddit makes dog attacks appear pervasive. Since dog owners are not allowed to post on the subreddit, there is never an opportunity to learn how they would prefer to be informed politely that we don’t wish to pet their dogs. Even though I’m certain no dog lovers will want to befriend me after this story, it seems as if staying active on r/Dogfree simultaneously provides an outlet for my pent-up frustrations and further reinforces my negative views towards dogs.
(Original illustration by Sawwft)
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