You are currently browsing the Counterfeit Humans weblog archives for the day September 10, 2007.
September 10, 2007 by Keli.
I like to indulge myself in early morning walks when the world is quiet and the sky is rosy. I breathe in the fresh scents, eye the multi-tinted flowers until…Roaming Rover bounds threateningly towards me. I faced a cavalier Border Collie a few days ago, off the leash. The oblivious owner followed 150 paces back.
The dog commenced barking and circling, closer and closer. All us humans resembled sheep to him.
I briefly considered the ramifications of biting him first. Or making a mad dash for the nearest tree. Then I heard the owner call out,
“Come here, boy!” Then to me, ”Don’t worry! He won’t bite.”
But I was worried. Being bitten by a dog was not on my list of ten things I’d like to experience before I die. Sure enough, Rover nipped me in my posterior. I decided to utilize Mark Twain’s sage advice: When angry, count four. When very angry, swear. Swearing felt good.
There was no pain or broken skin; just an annoying interruption of my peace of mind, underscored by the indignity of being mistaken for a farm animal who lived in a corral and wore a woolen coat. If only the unenlightened owner used the leash for its intended purpose instead of slinging it over his shoulder.
Said owner cornered and leashed the four-legged ruffian. The idiot babbled, “He’s never done that before.” And continued on his stroll.
“What if I’d been an elderly person or a child?” I yelled after him.
No apology was offered. How can stupers (again abbreviated for insufferably stupid persons) apologize when they are incapable of realizing that a wrong occurred?
A similar episode took place one Thanksgiving morning when my then twelve-year-old son and I walked our dog, Rio, on the leash. Rio has been known to possess certain…psychotic tendencies. Hence, he is never unleashed outside the home.
We passed through the local high school where people gathered for a baseball game. A cattle dog, off leash, entered the premises. His owner, walking behind him, assured us,
“Don’t worry! He’s friendly!”
My son’s arm sported numerous cuts and scratches from trying to pull Rio and the genial, free-range dog apart.
Unless your dog is Lassie or a reasonable facsimile, or one whom you are absolutely certain lacks aggressive tendencies, it should be leashed in public. Binky the dog, walks leashless in my street, but he’s fourteen and has a slight limp. Greta, the German Shepherd, also runs loose; she looks menacing, but her wagging tail gives her away. However, some dogs are not off-the-leash material.
Stupers fail to understand this last point. They think…ouch! I bit my tongue on that slip. All right already - they don’t think! They’re not the brightest crayons in the box. There exists a barrier in the mind that shuts out awareness and any sense of responsibility.
Watching another act in a half-witted manner should be a strong deterrent to behaving stupidly yourself.
Beware of the stuper who says, ”Don’t worry.”
Keli
Posted in Plain Old Fashioned Stupidity | 7 Comments »