It had been a trying night... in my mind, it was either the night of the biker or the jogger incident. We had also run into a leash walker (yes, my favorite curse word!). One of the folks that is mortified of meeting off leash dogs so they leash up and hike in the vast open area where all the off leash dogs go! They aren't social and they aren't pleasant.... as opposed to someone with a problem furchild that they can't let off leash but are happy to socialize and are friendly upon approach.
We had finally made it back to the car when I ran into what I thought was the same leash walker from the levee. I grabbed Mabel and secured her in the car and waited for Bart to reappear. (He loves to disappear just before we get to the car so he can dash in and harass the dogs that live near the parking lot... we call them the holocaust prisoners. They are fed but never exercised or even played with except by passersby. They actually LIKE Bart and his antics and whine at me on days I hike without him!)
As I hiked back in to get Bart and make sure there was no issue with Ms. Leashwalker, I found it was actually a different woman with a very nice dog. She had only leashed up when she became aware of US. I petted her dog and started chatting when I saw Bart. Mr. Bigshot was scared of the dog I was petting!
Mabel Lou does love a good tussle. She and Atilla go at it while Chloe and Bart watch.
I went and leashed him and gave the two the chance to meet properly. Bart loved the new dog! We unleashed them and let them play in the parking lot. They were so cute dashing about. Soon Atilla joined us and the three dogs played... all the while Mabel Lou was whining in the back of the car!
I said my goodbyes and drove Bart home giving little thought to the new dog. At home, I fed the girl and headed to the computer to return some customer emails. BUMP..... CRUNCH.
That's strange...
CRUNCH, CRUNCH POP...
I wonder what that is...
Pop pop POP.
What the???
I headed into the living room only to find that my good dog who only dug in the garbage ONCE as a puppy, had opened the cabinet, turned over the trashcan, rummaged a bit until she found a turkey package at the bottom of the can and had eaten the bloody paper bit and was working on the Styrofoam!!! What the heck??
I phoned my hiking buddy to kvetch. She was the one to figure it out... I had to be punished for failing to allow Mabel a/k/a "Queen Bitch of Everything" to meet and play with the new pup! I've learned my lesson. I won't do it again!
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3 comments:
Oh dear, I am going to have to disagree with you a bit here. Even in off leash parks, it is incumbent on the owner to have their dog under control at all times and not allow him or her to approach a person or dog until invited to do so.
We have a nice big park nearby where lots of dogs are off leash. I have been there with various dogs, both on and off leash, but stopped going because too many times when I asked people to "call your dog" when an off leash dog was charging us, they were helpless to get their dog in line.
Mango Momma
Mango Mom,
While I understand what you are saying, THIS is a VAST, rugged trail area where people have gone for DECADES to run their off leash dogs.
Unlike leash walkers - who can walk their dogs ANYWHERE - we have this canyon... as many of our other canyons were burned in recent fires.
What it boils down to for me is communication. Leash walkers KNOW off leash dogs are there and then act all indignant when they see us. They charge right in, yelling and being otherwise nasty.
There are days I don't feel like Mabel or especially Bart are up for a big pack... we simply turn and head another direction... No drama, no yelling.
If they know they are hiking in an area where they are certain to see the very thing they act so afraid of... why act surprised and rude??? That's MY issue with the leash walkers.
I wanted to add - it's not the physical act of walking a dog on the leash that makes "leash walker" my favorite curse word. It's the attitude, anger and fear of the human holding the leash.
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