So the other day, I am pulling the 13 clowns out of my tiny car, I mean unloading 4 dogs of various speeds out of my compact yet still SUV, at the Field. That same one we talked about yesterday. Timmy gets special careful unloading, then the others have to wait on command while shaking and barking of the excitement of it all, before they go leaping out of the car. On leashes. We have to do it this way if Timmy comes because he can't walk all the way there from my house anymore. So sorry Al Gore! But I got some re-usable shopping bags and compact fluorescents!
So this lady is unloading her dogs. What a sporty group they are. She has on black stripey Sporty Spice pants and some kind of shiney vest with fur and matching porkpie hat number. And both her dogs match! Yes, they have on Sporty Spice, Addidas style vests and very bling but in a Fifty Cent way pink ribbony collars with silver chain through them and braiding and they are sparkling in the sun. One is some kind of staffy type mix, small and not pitty looking and the other is very Team Small Dog. It is a hot sunny day but they are dressed in these matching vests. Like, vests, OK?
So the first thing she says as her dogs, who poured frantically out of the car and not on leashes and are barreling towards my group which comes slowly out of the car and are On leashes, is Be Nice.
Let me rephrase that. As her dogs come flying over to me, she starts shrieking, all fur collary vest and leatherette porkie hat, "BE NICE BE NICE BE NICE!!!!"
Never a good sign.
The staffy comes barrelling over to Timmy, I am used to this now from our dear friend Lila, and get in front and put some mutants in front and it comes growling in, full boar, no teeth or attacking but, let's just say, confrontational.
Shrieking is ensuing, "BE NICE BE NICE BE NICE!!!!"
My tactic is, we just keep moving. Be nice is a phrase we've heard a lot out there and it means to me, keep Timmy safe, and keep moving. The other dogs can handle themselves in anything other than flat out attack or huge dog. Ruby and Gustavo deflect, Otterpop will snap back but in a deflecting way. Leashes off, and we go.
Ms.BeNice Porkie Leatherette proceeds to walk and chat with us. I am so not a walker and a chatter with people I don't know. I have very limited social skills, can't do the small talk, possibly did not finish my coffee, and have 4 dogs to monitor who are moving at speeds from painfully slow creeping to insane fast running in places far away from me.
While she is chatting about something, the staffy dog every so often goes into a growly charge on my dog or a random dog and she is merrily, happily asking questions or talking about something until my very, very slow walking to stay with Timmy grows tiresome and off she goes to a new band of dog ladies. The whole time, not once noticing that her dog has some really crappy social skills except with the admonishment of BE NICE!! BE NICE!!
We know it's going to be one of those days when seconds later, a group of ladies with a little poodle and I forget what else, see my group and start shrieking, dropping to the ground to pet my Puppies! How neat I have the mama and here are all the Puppies!!! Shrieking over Puppies!
Gustavo is happy to act as token puppy. Ruby and Otterpop run as fast as they can from shrieking, dropping to their knees ladies. Not their scene. Timmy doesn't notice. The only thing I can think of to do is just keep on moving, nod and smile, and keep going while they talk about what a nice lady I am to keep all my dog's puppies.
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