Pause... for a moment of pride.
Or should I say, 'Paws'?
Took Ruthie out last night for a walk. We made a detour to the pharmacy. The building has two big doors that are always open, and a railing along the stairs. I often tie Ru's leash to the railing at the top - from there I can see her fairly well from the rest of the store (and I'm only ever in there for 3 minutes at a time anyway).
I took longer than usual this time as I was asking the girl for something specific and that took a bit of acting on my part before we worked it out. When I got back to the front of the room to pay, I noticed two elderly people standing in front of Ruthie, pointing at her. She sat there quietly, looking up at them. When the woman leaned down to pet her, Ru stretched her nose out and let her before settling down again. I smiled and paid.
When I walked over to untie her, the woman gave me a look that i - at first - read as 'focused anger' : wide eyes, finger pointing at me, talking loudly. I assumed she was mad at me for tying Ruthie there and I tried to apologize.
She shook her head at my apology, pointed at Ruthie, and repeated her words, slower this time. I made out only two things - 'dog' and 'sit'. I thought she was still angry and I apologized again.
She shook her head AGAIN and then said,"Xiao guo (small dog), bu shi WOOF WOOOF WOOF WOOF!" and gave Ruthie a thumbs up. She was telling me she thought Ruthie was a good dog and when she repeated her previous sentence I could make out the words for quiet and 'calm'. :) She pet Ruthie again, gave me another thumbs up and then walked away.
I gave Ru some extra cuddles and some cracker treats as a reward. ^^ I love this community.
Took Ruthie out last night for a walk. We made a detour to the pharmacy. The building has two big doors that are always open, and a railing along the stairs. I often tie Ru's leash to the railing at the top - from there I can see her fairly well from the rest of the store (and I'm only ever in there for 3 minutes at a time anyway).
I took longer than usual this time as I was asking the girl for something specific and that took a bit of acting on my part before we worked it out. When I got back to the front of the room to pay, I noticed two elderly people standing in front of Ruthie, pointing at her. She sat there quietly, looking up at them. When the woman leaned down to pet her, Ru stretched her nose out and let her before settling down again. I smiled and paid.
When I walked over to untie her, the woman gave me a look that i - at first - read as 'focused anger' : wide eyes, finger pointing at me, talking loudly. I assumed she was mad at me for tying Ruthie there and I tried to apologize.
She shook her head at my apology, pointed at Ruthie, and repeated her words, slower this time. I made out only two things - 'dog' and 'sit'. I thought she was still angry and I apologized again.
She shook her head AGAIN and then said,"Xiao guo (small dog), bu shi WOOF WOOOF WOOF WOOF!" and gave Ruthie a thumbs up. She was telling me she thought Ruthie was a good dog and when she repeated her previous sentence I could make out the words for quiet and 'calm'. :) She pet Ruthie again, gave me another thumbs up and then walked away.
I gave Ru some extra cuddles and some cracker treats as a reward. ^^ I love this community.