things I've done, things I have to do, and why I like animals better than people most days

[wordinista]

Shopping for Amelia Island, done.
Tora-kun's outfit, ordered
New printer, purchased
Doggie supplies for trip, bought
Bankruptcy, filed (ha ha)
Caterer, pestered
Deep breaths, taken
New Printer, sworn at
Crafts for Centerpieces, ordered
Wedding favors, resisted

Things I must do:

Rings
Decorations
MARRIAGE LICENSE OMG

Am entertaining crazy thoughts of actually carrying flowers, which I'd scoffed at before.  *rolls eyes at self*

In preparation for the Amelia Island trip, I've decided to take Darwin on walks around our local historic district, so he can get used to the foot traffic and general craziness.  All went very well, and he was so well-behaved that I decided to stop into this one little ice cream shop and get him a little scoop of vanilla.  The owner was all about the dog-friendly, and everything was good.  Right up until a woman and her daughter walked in.  They crossed in front of him -- I don't think they realized he was there, and he didn't realize they were there, so when he looked up, and saw, well, people, he barked at them.

*facepalm*

So, okay, whatever.  I scolded him (apologized to the woman for startling her), took away his ice cream for a bit, and put it down again, giving him a "wait" command before he could dive again into his French Vanilla heaven.  Good, right?

Wrong.

Oh my god, you'd think I had Cujo there with me.  This woman was looking at Darwin like she thought he was going to JUMP HER and burn out her eyes with his VANILLA FLAVORED ACID DROOL.  Meanwhile, the dog?  All about the ice cream.  Anyway, her daughter asks if they can eat inside.  Actually, the daughter asks if SHE can eat HER ice cream inside, because the mom only got bottled water.  ("I'm not really an ice cream fan," she says.)

Now, before I go on, I should make clear that when I walk Darwin, I have him on a thick nylon leash (that joker is no less than an inch wide) that has a series of loops and hooks so I can adjust the leash to be 2 ft, 4 ft, 6 ft, or to be worn crosswise on my torso.  I like the hands-free walking, so a lot of the time, I have the leash that way.  Basically I'm attached to my dog by a thick nylon umbilical cord.  I also have a martingale collar on him, because he tends to either slip out or break out of his regular collar, which is bad.

So this woman looks at me and says, "He's on a leash, right?"

....

........

I cannot be sure I didn't give her some sort of look before saying that, yes, my dog was on a leash.  Dumbest question of the day, by far.

*sigh*  I'm still annoyed about this, and it happened almost nine hours ago.  WTF?

Comments

[emrlddragon.livejournal.com]

I understand. My lab, Daisy, tends to be excitable around people and food... and people with food. And she has to wear a Haltie (looks like a miniature horse halter) because she will pull me down otherwise. People think it's a muzzle, despite the fact it is quite clearly not tight around her mouth (there are a good three inches of slack below her shin, and that's when she has her mouth open panting), and they ask if she's dangerous. My general answer is: "only if you are allergic to dog spit."

[manda-moo478.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry about that. I don't have a dog anymore, but I remember when he used to escape his collar n_n. Not fun. And dogs smell fear...good thing Darwin was occupied with the ice cream. *nods*

[slvrstarlight.livejournal.com]

I got a dumb question of the day... actually one of my customers had it:

Stupid customer: What's the difference between the mocha frappuchino and the carmel frappuchino?

Me and a coworker:*blinks*

Me: Um, one has chocolate, the other has carmel?

SC: Oh, ok thanks I'll have the bananas and cream.

Always remember, things could be worse. You could have a retail job XP

[hyanan.livejournal.com]

I do that all the time. Something stupid happens when I'm out and it bothers me all damn day or even a few days. Argh. Stupid brain. :(

[darkfrog24.livejournal.com]

He barked? That's all he did? Did they notice the part where Darwin is a dog?

("I'm not really an ice cream fan," she says.)

That's it! She's an evil youkai in disguise. Everyone knows those dudes are lactose intolerant and deplore joy as though it would scorch.