This post could also be titled: “How to Get Justin’s Blood Boiling.”
We went to the park last week for an impromptu picnic dinner. As we were eating our egg salad sandwiches and pretzels, I noticed a twenty/thirty-something guy working out with his big, black dog. Nothing remarkable there. However, then I noticed the dog was no longer on a lease.
Honestly, I didn’t think much of it. They were a good distance away and the dog wasn’t straying from its owner. I had all but forgotten about them when I saw Audrey excitedly running toward Justin to go on the slides. In an instant, she stopped, froze and started hysterically running back towards me as a dog weighing twice as much as she does ran straight towards her. I wasn’t really worried…I could tell the dog was friendly, but my darling 3 year old had no way of knowing that and really, how could I know, either?
The owner came running over, apologizing, and Justin reamed him. “This state has leash laws for a reason,” Justin said, furiously. The guy got all defensive and started spouting off things like, “Come on, man. He wasn’t going to hurt her. I have a collar on him.” If Justin wasn’t holding Anna at the time, I think there would have been a confrontation.
Thankfully, the guy put his dog back on the leash, but made a point of staying right by the playground. I watched Justin try to gain his composure for the next 45 minutes as the guy kept throwing us glares every time Audrey asked, “Is the dog coming back over here? Is it on a leash, Mom?”
It amazes me sometimes, the lack of common sense that people have. And then they try to blame others when things don’t go well. A big, black dog in a children’s park…hmm…keep it on a leash!
