An Important Lesson Learned From the Platypus Family's Pooch

We have written a number of times on this blog about the "lessons" our family has learned from our family pets.  For one thing---rather obviously---they don't wear clothes and they do not seem the least bit bothered by it.  They thrive!  For another thing, our pets learned quickly that they should be wary of anytime that anyone in the family puts on clothes. It means we'll be leaving them alone soon and they "protest" by barking, even raising a paw of "protest" to keep us from getting dressed.  You can read blog entries  ( March 17, 2012 Lessons from the Family Pet  ) and March 29, 2012 Staying Naked Makes Their Terrier Merrier
on those subjects.

Today the lesson is a little more serious.  See, until now we have always had very, very clever pooches that are escape artists when it comes to the back yard.  They were constantly looking for a way to dig under a fence, squeeze through a gate, even jump and use objects to get out of the yard and down the street.  Very clever. But it also meant we could not simply let our pets roam in the backyard for fear they would soon be down the street generating a neighborly "complaint" or, worse, risk getting hit by a car.

In the past six months, however, we lost two pets to age and have a new, larger dog. He is content to enjoy his big backyard with nary an attempt to pull a jailbreak.  True, there have been a couple of occasions where we left a gate open and he wandered. But day-in-day-out this hound is a good neighbor.  Doesn't bark to disturb others. Doesn't press the limits of boundaries he shouldn't.  As a result, we feel comfortable letting him enjoy ALL of that backyard, and with letting him out virtually any part of the day that he wants to be there.

What does any of this have to do in a nudist blog?  It's about respecting boundaries. As nudists, when we are fortunate enough to have a beach or nudist club to enjoy, we help preserve---even increase---our nude freedoms when we use such places responsibly and encourage others to do so.  Help clean up the beach. Report inappropriate behavior. Use sound judgment when encountered by others.

Do we mean that there's anything wrong with enjoying our nakedness?  NOT AT ALL.  No more than there is anything wrong with our family pooch enjoying his backyard.  The problem(s) come(s) when folks attempt to "test" the limits of what they can get away with.  [The Platypus is reminded of a time when a man sought legal advice after being cited for indecency on a beach. Turns out, in that particular situation the man had been walking the sands in an obvious state of arousal  and was actually wearing a "device" specifically designed to "maintain" that state.  Really???? ]

Those who abuse beach and club privileges are, of course, very much the minority.  We know that Platypus readers are among those who work to make their "backyards" a better place.  We just don't want the reputation of a few stray dogs to cost the nudist community more of the precious spaces that we enjoy.