I let Mr. N off-leash and he ran around. Onyxx was stepping gingerly because of all the mud so we headed to drier ground where I could still keep an eye on Mr. N. I noticed a man with a medium-sized black dog on-leash walking towards the off-leash area. Mr. N ran over to say hello.
Then the man starts kicking at Mr. N. I grabbed Onyxx and we ran over to them. I told the guy to stop kicking my dog and that we were in an off-leash area and he was being a jerk. He walks away with his dog, yelling that I was lucky that his dog was friendly.
... what the hell. We were in an area that was clearly marked as off-leash. If you don't want your dog interacting with other dogs, don't walk there! And Mr. N is seven pounds. He could have been seriously injured if that guy succeeded in kicking him. He was barking but it was excited barking and he wasn't growling or snapping or exhibiting any kind of aggressive behavior.
Not to mention, I was the only other person actually obeying the leash law and the other dogs in the park were playing off-leash in the rest of the park where they're required to be on-leash.
Mr. N is fine, thankfully. He is eating and drinking normally and running around as usual. I also brushed him all over and he didn't react in pain at all. I feel like I should have done something more but I don't know what. The boyfriend told me to call the police next time.
OMG, what an awful man! But glad Mr N is fine.
ReplyDeleteWeird. Had a similar interaction with a crazy lady at the off-leash beach a week and a half ago but she was threatening my 85lbs dog so it wasn't as scary. Are you going to post about your leg weave progress for the training hop today?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I just got the post up late.
DeleteSo glad that "Mr.N" is ok. This is just one of MANY reasons why I will not go to dog parks. Leashed or unleashed I will not take Dakota to one, my vet is also vehemently opposed to them.
ReplyDeleteWell we don't have a yard so we go sometimes to let Mr. N run around. I only take him during off-peak hours when it's empty or near empty.
DeleteWhat an asshat!! He would have heard it from me, I'm sure. I'm very glad Mr.N is ok, that's the most important thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I was really worried but he's fine.
DeleteThere is no reason to kick a dog,
ReplyDeleteOnce, I was walking one of my dogs and a small dog about Mr. N's size came charging at us, barking and snapping and trying to bite my dog (who was a Keeshond / Shepherd mix, so he outweighed the little guy by about a factor of 10.) This wasn't just excited and happy Mr. N kind of barking; it was true aggression.Pasha was getting stressed out and I was afraid he'd get pushed over the edge and snap back (something he'd never done, but he'd never met an aggressive dog before.) The owner of the Bitey Thing stood there watching and doing nothing. I kept putting myself between Bitey Thing and my Pasha, but he kept trying to attack. Even then I didn't kick anyone (though the owner could have used a swift one.) I picked up Bitey Thing and handed him to his owner. "You may want to keep him leashed," I said. "Not every dog would be as tolerant as mine." I think the guy was insulted. But I didn't care.
I feel like I spend half of my walks yelling at other dog walkers sometimes.
DeletePoor Mr. N and poor you! Maybe the man didn't know he was in an off-leash area?Which still gives him no right to kick at any dog, so never mind!
ReplyDeleteI am beginning to think people are just plain wacko. So glad Mr. N is okay.
ReplyDeleteHoly. Smokes.
ReplyDeleteWell at least you told that guy he was being a jerk - because he totally was!
Thank goodness he never did actually kick Mr N - that would be awful. But I would give him a piece of my mind just for the attempt, anyway.
Not sure what else you can do in the situation of douchey dog owners. (I'd be tempted to try to get the altercation on film and let the Court of Pubic Opinion lay judgment, but that's hard to remember to do in the heat of the moment and can really result in a situation escalating, which is probably not wanted.)
Ugh. People are the worst.
I did try to take a picture of him after he walked off but he was too far away. I'm going to need pepper spray for the dogs AND the humans.
DeleteI don't know that the police would do anything, sadly. What a jerk! Now that we have a new puppy, I'm thinking of trying the dog park. Thinking twice ...
ReplyDeletewww.dogtreatweb.com
Yeah, I don't know if it would do any good either.
DeleteSo glad Mr. N. is okay -- and you are too!! Some people are real jerks! Glad you let him know he's one! Sometimes you just have to call a person out. Unfortunately, I doubt the police would do anything about it unless they actually witnessed it.
ReplyDeleteLike Caren, I don't take my dogs to the dog park. Too many stupid people who don't know they're stupid. They let their dogs off leash and proceed to put phone to ear and ignore the dogs for the next hour.
How could anyone try to kick that precious baby?? I feel sorry for that grump's dog. He probably gets kicked and yelled at on a regular basis. Humans, sigh....
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for his dog too..
DeleteI would have called the police. I feel like you could argue it was animal abuse since your dog was not being threatening though he could turn around and say he was... never hurts to try. At the very least it'd give this (enter unsavory language here) a bit of a scare and maybe he'd think twice in the future. Sorry this happened to your little guy :(
ReplyDeleteOMD, are you serious? I'm so glad Mr. N is OK. I can't believe the crassness and stupidity of some people. I'm looking forward to getting out with you two again. It'll be fun!
ReplyDeletePretty ridiculous. Don't take your dog to an off leash area if you don't want to be around off leash dogs - duh!
ReplyDelete