Fans coming off the subway for a Mets game at Citi Field for 16 years have encountered Mets Dog, a canine decked in orange and blue gear, a cowboy hat, bandana, a pipe in his mouth and sunglasses. The current version, Sushi, will shake your hand in exchange for dollars. Fans line up to take photos of the dog. Her owner, Norberto Fernandez, stands nearby. Sushi doesn’t pant, and hardly moves for hours at a time, with no apparent access to food or water.
“The fact that that dog hasn’t died is kind of amazing,” said Christina Shusterich, an NYC-based dog behavior specialist, who reviewed numerous images and videos of the dog. Protests over Mets Dog are proliferating in social media. “Dogs don’t just sit still, especially in the hot sun with no shade, no water, no food,” says Belkis Cardona-Rivera, who works in the pet industry and founded a Facebook group that claims Sushi is being abused. “This is animal cruelty. This is not normal. For me, that’s not cute at all. That’s not normal dog behavior.”
Yet the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), among other agencies, has investigated and found no grounds to remove Mets Dog from her owner’s care. Meanwhile, the Mets wash their metaphorical hands of the issue. “The New York Mets organization is in no way affiliated with this individual and their dog and do not condone their behavior,” the team said in a statement.
Controversies abound. Many are certain that Fernandez, who claims to be a dog trainer, must use an electric collar to get the dog to stay so still and keep a pipe in his mouth. Yet Sushi appears to be in good health and loved, and she undoubtedly better off than many dogs that are neglected by their owners. She has a job. She has friends.
Your Ethics Alarms Ethics Quiz of the Day is this:
Ethics Alarms 
Look directly between the dog and the owner in the picture. Is that a water bottle? Perhaps two water bottles? What is the dog standing on? Carpet? The sheer inhumanity.
My only message for Shusterich would be:
Apparently the owner pours water on the dog during hot days.
Hmm, well if the dog is showing no signs of distress, maybe it’s because it is not in distress. I’m going to trust the ASPCA here. People are also capable of concluding that a husky is being treated cruelly by being left outside in a cold snowy backyard, presumably because the person doesn’t think they would enjoy this and knows very little about huskies.
Is Mets Dog being cruelly treated? Should Fernandez be prevented from presenting his canine panhandling spectacle? Or is this “Ick!” rather than unethical?
It depends. Some dogs are naturally entertainers like the bully breed group. This dog may naturally like his role. Obviously for other dogs, this situation would be a nightmare. I’d be more curious about what the dog is like when the day is over. Is Sushi relaxed or anxious, would be my first question. Often a dog can perform certain impulse control related behaviors for a while, then they may “act out” or shut down later because they’ve bottled up their natural tendencies. If that’s not happening here, and the dog is getting exercise, proper food, and plenty of water, then this is probably more of an ick scenario.
Yesterday as we parked our car in a busy parking lot for a park concert, I spotted what looked like a hound/lab/pit mix walking back and forth a few feet. As we finished pulling into the parking space, I realized that it was 92 degrees, the dog had a pretty big prong collar on, and the pavement was still hot. This dog was panting and looked utterly miserable as the young trainer just kept going back and forth increasing distance. I knew what the trainer was doing in front of her client was an attempt at desensitization and impulse control. It was clear however that this trainer knows nothing about applied behavior analysis and worse, doesn’t understand the basic concept that it’s very hard for any species to learn when overstimulated, in pain, or uncomfortable in the environment. This is not how you set up a dog and their owner for success.
To me the situation I encountered was much worse because you have someone who is willfully ignoring basic safety for the dog and ignoring the clear body language of the dog.
What I have learned over the years of working with dogs is that many people who claim to be dog lovers treat dogs like shit because they can’t see past their own intentions. Their actions regarding their pet is more about personal satisfaction and objectification than tuning into their dog’s unique individual needs and trying to meet in the middle. I think many of us won’t admit that we don’t so much want a dog as we want a fur covered teddy bear robot that will assuage our loneliness and need for safe touch while never barking, jumping, sniffing trees, or otherwise acting like a dog. I have yet to hear a dog owner ask if I can help them learn how to be a better human to their dog. It’s always about what the dog can do for them.
A baby would never sit in your lap while you drive right? Because it’s unsafe if there’s an accident. But we do the same thing with dogs, which is equally unsafe. Why? Because we claim to love our dog. But I think it’s not love. It’s a type of selfishness that puts the owners need for companionship above a dog’s need for safety. Where is the Facebook group for that?