We all leave school thinking that we live in a fair and equal society, that the days when there were terrible injustices in society were over, but slowly, as we progress through life, we see that all that has happened is that new 'cliques' have arisen in place of the old ones.

It's not just the 'travelers' there are other groups that get exceptional treatment. These people make up only a tiny minority yet they are responsible for considerable heartache and cost the 'normal' taxpayer millions.

So, Doberman, I'm sad to say that life today is no more 'fair' and 'equal' than it was hundreds of years ago, it's just that the modern day untouchables are not the same as those in ancient history.

The more I live with my dogs the less I like humans

Seems there are some travellers who dont obey the law at all , I had a terrible experience a few yrs back where I had my driveway done by travellers , I didnt realise at the time until it was too late that the company belonged to travellers, to cut a long story short , the red tarmac laid as agreed was actually black tarmac painted red that came off the first time it rained ! when challenged and we refused to pay the rest of bill due to the shoddy work ,these guys said to me , you have two little children you better keep an eye on them if they are playing in the garden because they may just disappear, you can imagine how scary this was , I called the police who werent able to do a lot , when you have had this type of experience with people like that it is very difficult to have any sympathy to their cause of just wanting to live a particular lifestyle.

This is one of the oldest tricks in the book These small 'tarmacing' firms usually get a contract from the council (To do a car park or whatever) they quote a price to the council for x amount of material, they never use it all so they can then go round and make more money by offering to do peoples drives. Not all are as 'dodgy' as the one you were unlucky to get involved with but threats to ones children are, (or should be) treated very seriously by the Police but if they are 'travelers' then they have probably moved on before any investigation can even start.

They have more money than the likes of you and i because they don't pay for anything

I worked in a hairdressers at Lakeside Shopping Centre, nearby there is a large purpose built encampment, they used to come in the hairdressers, have the works done and then "forget" their purse You get wise to them

The tarmacing thing is a well known scam unfortunately

they are also great at pestering you if you have a garden of any sorts - trees to cut, grass, hedges - problem is they need to be told no a million times..
One da I just said - 'I have no money so you wouldnt get paid' to get rid - one of them even had the cheek to say that between the cars we had and the wheels on them they must have cost a fortune - he seen the look on my face and I said 'yes' and just glared, then he left, bladdy cheek o him!! He STILL came back again only this time a Dobermann greeted him instead of me and he just left - never came back after that!!

You wouldn't be...........Romanies are totally, completely, and utterly different to these travellers. I have huge respect for one, and absolutely none for the other. As we have all said previously, true Gypsies love and care for their animals whilst the travellers seem to be downright cruel.

Yes, the purpose built places are bad enough - and why the heck should we all pay for those for goodness sake? The travellers here just plonk themselves on any available car park making it a no go area for everyone else. As you say, it looks appalling and drags down the neighbourhood.

Good comment - and even though I detest these people now, I am becoming fond of their unfortunate dogs.

I would worry that they might come back and steal the dog just before upping sticks and moving on.

nah, he wasnt coming accross as very approachable to him. He's very friendly but picks up on 'shifty' people very easily! and can be the opposite if he feels the need which he must have done! Plus I always was around if the dog was out. You can hardly trust anyone these days!!

Years ago our dog got out and someone brought him home from along the street, my dog got out a couple of years ago after a split second of me being at the window, I was frantic asking people (who lived in the same street as me!) if they'd seen him, they could hardly speak to me! Even though one was walking her own dog and said 'yes' I then had to ASK her 'where?'
"outside my house"
I'd only just moved in and didnt know where that was and she would only tell me the street name!! (my street - not even say where the house was)
I then found out she lived accross the road and walked past my garden and me and wasnt going to say anything!!
She could have said he is only over there....
Even though she made it obvious she knew...just by the look I got!
(best of it is I know someone must have let him out too..)

I never leave him unattended and if I do it will be for a couple of mins MAX. Its just not worth it. Now hes older he would never even go and would bark if someone was to come to the gate when I'm indoors but still........just not worth the risk.

Isn't this one of the amazing things about dogs

It used to puzzle me for a long time how they could 'pick up' on dodgy characters. Then I read a book which put forward the theory that someone who is planning to con you or even mug you will be nervous, it might not show to you or me but he will be excreting sweat and because a dog has such fantastic sense of smell they can easily sense this and react accordingly. Seems logical to me.

yes and they can apparently pick up on the tiniest of adrenaline, hormone changes etc through this and also good at knowing the slightest changes in body language even with people.

It really is amazing

Losos and Dobermann, this is exactly why I adore dogs! They are amazing creatures and whilst sometimes they may drive us to distraction they pick up on so much that we are totally unaware of.

Dobermann, your dog sounds as if he would never willingly go off with a dodgy stranger - and thank heavens for that. Unfortunately our rescue chappie is so people orientated that I would not put it past him to happily allow himself to be abducted.

I am very very very watchful and wary whilst the grots are still in residence down the road, because they have watched him obsessively digging for moles and voles etc.............he might be just what they at looking for, who knows. Whenever we come home from our walk I keep looking behind me to make sure that we are not followed, and at night I stay outside with him. Not much fun in these temperatures!!!