So yesterday I’m minding my business, walking mine and best friend’s dog and I spotted a woman walking towards us. She caught my eye because she too was with her dog, the only difference was that her dog was walking her. I watched in amusement and annoyance as the 70-pound dog made her walk in a zig-zag formation down the street.
I should probably pause here and tell you that yes, I’ve had a dog for seven years, but no, I’m not a dog person. Now back to my story.
So my dogs and I are in a grassy area where dogs poop and Sarah (yes, I made up a name for her), is making her way towards us. Most of the people in my complex with dogs are courteous, and if they see you in one of the poop areas, they don’t bring their dog into the poop area too. Not Sarah. Before I had time to process what was happening, Sarah and big Cujo were in the poop area with me and the eight-pound dogs I live with. Now I’m hastily trying to wrangle Pepper and Paisley back towards me, because it’s clear Sarah has no control over Cujo.
I guess Sarah noticed my disgust and in an effort to ease me, she managed to piss me off even more by saying, “Oh, he’s big, but he’s friendly.” First of all Sarah, I don’t know you or Cujo, you could both be killers. Sure, it’s a public space, but don’t initiate an impromptu playdate with my dogs and then ask if it’s OK. That’s like Facetime-ing a potential bae without scheduling an appointment, it’s just rude. It really angered me that this woman walked up on me and my dogs and expected everything to be cool because she was OK and thought I should be too.
So what did I do? I looked at her with all the disgust I could muster out of my inner angry Black woman and walked away without saying a word. So the moral of the story is don’t walk up on me with your dog. Oh, and also, don’t assume people are OK with something just because you think they will be. Do yourself and them a favor– ask first.
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