Fadedwords

There aren’t too many things I get really worked up over.  I tend to be pretty patient and pretty laid back about most things.  Two things I do get worked up over are my dog and people who are irresponsible pet owners.  These two things came to an incredibly obnoxious clash last night.

Yesterday morning I had decided to take Merlin for a walk.  I thought it would be nice to explore more of our neighborhood, so I went down a side street I had never been down before.  I was pretty happy by the end of the walk because the side street ended up looping around and we were able to do a big circle for our walk rather than down straight one side of the street and come back on the other side.  Also, this route kept us off of our road which is the main road in our subdivision.  After the walk I had to go to the store, so I took a quick detour and drove the route we took.  It was a little more than a mile, which is absolutely perfect. 

I was feeling pretty stoked.

It was gorgeous out yesterday, so after dinner I decided to go on another walk with Merlin.  This served a twofold purpose; for one thing I felt like I needed the extra activity after having two meals this weekend that were a little heavier than I’m used to.  Secondly, I really enjoy walking with Merlin.  We’d met two nice dogs on our morning walk, and he handled it beautifully.  I was really looking forward to another adventure.

I suppose you really should be careful what you wish for.

We were about halfway through the walk when I heard someone yell, “Fido don’t you dare!” I turned and saw a huge Boxer charging toward us.  Merlin does not like it when dogs come up on him from behind, so I stopped and faced the dog.  Strangely enough if a dog is going to come up to me on a walk, I want to be looking at it in case it decides to try to hurt me or Merlin.  So this other dog comes up and they go about sniffing and getting acquainted.  The other owner had jogged up and was saying things like, “Say hello nicely Fido.” He asked my dog’s name and I told him.  And then all hell broke loose.  The other dog started racing around us and then diving in and trying to jump on top of Merlin.  The other owner did very little to intervene; he just kept saying things like, “say hello nice” or “Fido don’t you dare” or “calm down Fido.” Merlin was doing his best to be polite; he tried to sit when I told him to, but ‘Fido’ just kept trying to jump on his back.  Finally it got to the point where the Boxer got between me and Merlin and tried to jump on him again.  I think that he thought that this other dog was going to try to hurt me, so Merlin snapped at him.  I told him no, because I didn’t want this idiot owner to point fingers if his dog got hurt.  He said, “Maybe if he gets bitten he’ll learn a lesson.” The other dog continued in this assault for probably five more minutes.  We couldn’t walk away because he would try to jump on Merlin anytime he moved.  The other owner was saying things like, “It seems like Merlin is getting annoyed Fido.” *rolls eyes* Finally he got hold of Fido’s collar and held on to him.  He apologized and I said that it would be great if he could keep his dog on a leash in the future if he can’t control him.  He said something like, “He’s just not used to meeting new dogs.” I didn’t respond to that.

I get so mad at people like this.  First off, his dog should have been on a leash or behind a fence, or tied to something.  The owner clearly knew the dog would act this way, because the first things out of his mouth when his dog raced toward us were, “Fido No!” and “Say hello nice!” Second, if Merlin had bitten his dog, I know this guy would’ve been making a fuss and trying to sue the “vicious” German Shepherd and his owner.  Third, if you cannot control your dog you should not have one.  Throughout this whole event Merlin listened to me and tried to do the things I told him to.  This other dog was absolutely off the wall and refused to listen to his owner.

So now I’ve lost my awesome walking route.  I have no idea when this dog will be out again without a leash.  Next time he could be off his leash and not have an owner with him… and then I’d be in real trouble.  I know Merlin can take care of himself, but I honestly don’t want to put him in a position to fear or hate other dogs because of this one idiot.  There is another loop that’s smaller… I’d have to walk it twice to get a mile, but it would have us avoiding this house. 

Pet*smart sells this stuff that’s a spray that you can use to ward off dogs that are inappropriate like this.  It’s not pepper spray (which I would never use on an animal).  It’s citronella based and doesn’t hurt them.  I’m tempted to get some and spray the dog right in the mug if he comes near us again. 

I just don’t understand people who have dogs, especially a large breed like a Boxer, and let it behave that way.  Merlin has his moments where he does things I don’t necessarily like.  I can say that he does nothing that is aggressive or dangerous around people or other dogs as of yet.  It infuriates me that someone who is irresponsible can put me and Merlin in a position to be on the defensive toward another dog.