Usually posts are done through the eyes of Edie the Pug but today I thought as Edie’s “humom”, I needed to share. Yesterday I was out doing errands, one of them being the bank, not one of my favourite errands, but this day got the blogger in me thinking.
As I was approached the entrance door of the bank this was:
“My Perspective”
First: OMG, he’s gorgeous looking, very impressive, big, bold.
Second: I wonder how he will react when I walk by so closely to get in the bank door.
Third: How well trained is he! He made no direct eye contact to get my attention, and I gave him the same respect. His mission it seemed was to just wait for his human, mind his own business, sit there and eventually lay down, until he was greeted by whomever it was he was waiting for.
https://ilovemydogmorethanmykids.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.phpNow if you haven’t figured it out by now I’m talking about a dog 😉
I entered the bank, waiting in line like usual, I started scanning the people trying to match up the dog with who I thought he belonged to, I couldn’t do it. There wasn’t one person I could see that I thought this impressive, obviously well trained 125lb + dog belonged to, must be someone in one of the offices I thought.
Fourth: Now the mother/dog/pet owner in me is getting concerned, thinking to myself, “he’s been out there a while, right in the sun, without any shade, panting, I know it’s still morning but it is getting warm out there, I wonder if he needs a drink of water?”
The other customers in the bank were seeing the exact same thing but definitely not thinking the same thoughts I was.
“Perspective of Others”
Customer asks: Who’s dog is that?
Well, that’s all it took. One person to ask the question that many were thinking, even me, though I realized quickly we had different thoughts on the “situation” The majority of them felt he should not be left where he was; in the path of the entrance.
Several Customers add to conversation: “Yes, whose dog is that, he’s very close to the entrance”.
Tellers: “Don’t know, owner must be in one of the cubicles with a staff member”.
Most Customers: “Well, he shouldn’t be right by the doors where we have to walk past him to get in”.
My Teller: “Yes! I’m very nervous/ scared of dogs, well, not so much scared but nervous, when I was young a dog (didn’t bite me) but chased me and I’ve been cautious ever since”.
My Teller: “Do you have a dog?” Yes, and 2 cats I say.
My Teller: “What kind of dog do you have”.
Me: “Pug, but I’ve also had large dogs”.
Customers: They continued to talk about this “big dog” and it should not be left so close to the entrance. I never did get a chance to see the pet parent of this dog before I left, but the conversation surrounding him continued as I walked out the door, past the “big, mighty, beast of a dog”, who totally ignored me as I did so.
Was there a right or a wrong perspective of this situation?
No.
In my opinion, both sides are correct.
Being an animal lover and owner, I first admired the beauty of this animal. Then, knowing what I do, knew not to approach or make contact with a strange dog. As time went by, the same animal lover/owner in me began to worry about the dog in the heat, possibly needing shade or water. Then it moved on to thinking, “where is the owner?” I haven’t seen anyone take a look to make sure this dog is all right!
I believe that part of being a responsible dog owner is being aware of others around you and realizing not everyone is a “dog person”, in fact, this was probably not the place to leave a dog, big or small, where others would have to pass by so closely to get to where they needed to go. Even though he appeared to be a well trained dog, it takes just 1 second for something to happen, and in that case no one wins, human or dog.
June 11, 2014
Good article. I agree with you, and then, in situations like this we are left to wonder~~~~~what happened. Hopefully the owner was nearby.
June 11, 2014
We can only hope it all turned out well – for humans and the dog.