We had to leave the house yesterday in the afternoon because our landlord was showing it to prospective renters. (We are moving again. For the last time. Ever.)
After a frantic cleaning frenzy and a quick after school snack, the kids and I piled into the car to spend an hour at the park. I didn't want to leave the dog behind, she is not a very good tour guide. We arrived at the park without incident and played for a good long time. Even though I realized once we got there that George was not wearing any shoes or socks (see: frantic cleaning frenzy above.)
Believe me, I love every minute of living here. No shoes or socks at the park in November? Yes, please.
I digress.
On the way home, Ginger's butt kept bumping the gear shift into neutral even though Jack was doing his best to keep her out of the way. He rolled down the window to allow her to stick her head out and maybe make some room. It didn't work. At the next stop sign when her butt shifted me back into neutral, it may have shifted my irritation level into overdrive and I
may have shoved her just hard enough to make her jump out the window. The hilarity that ensued was gut busting for me. We were right by an empty field and she was determined not to get caught.
In the end, I handed the leash to Jack and said "Please walk her home."
Little did I know that Her Royal Highness of Dog Walking would be out as well. Apparently, on their way to the house, Jack and Creed noticed a woman with her own dog walking toward them and Ginger. Knowing how
hyper, psycho, FRIENDLY she can get, they promptly crossed the street. Well, so did Her Royal Highness. She seemed intent that the two dogs meet. Of course, when they got close, Ginger pulled hard on the leash and Jack had a good tight hold of it but Ginger is huge and strong and he couldn't get her to stop pulling.
As they passed each other, Her Royal Highness snapped at my son "LEARN how to control your DOG if you are going to take it for a WALK, KID."
Had Jack dropped the leash? No. Did he cross the street in advance and try to avoid the encounter? Yes. Did his dog jump on, bark at, or in any way get tangled up with her or her dog? She was trying to get tangled up, yes, but Jack didn't let her. She wasn't barking or jumping. He allowed for a wide enough birth that the two dogs didn't even get to give a proper hello. (Read: sniff each others' butts.)
The only thing that Her Royal Highness was commenting on was the fact that Jack's dog was pulling hard on the leash and he was clearly pulling pretty hard back.
She doesn't even know him, and a negative comment like that from a stranger devastates my kid. He was downcast the rest of the night.
I told him he should feel honored. It's not every day that you get to meet Royalty while you our out walking the dog.
(I'm just glad that Creed didn't try to run her over on his scooter. He was hoppin' mad at her.)
