Loca is crazy. Okay it is a fact that a lot of people already know but to be clear, Loca is part of a breed of dog in Midcity that is part Lab, we suspect part Greyhound, and is part a million other breeds becoming a breed onto herself. She’s lightning fast, she’s sweet as sugar, she’s smart as a whip, and she’s nuts. But in my new attempt to go back to her training, I’m not avoiding situations, I’m training her through them.
Take this morning, we walked to City Park, it was a foggy morning, the air heavy with water and when we entered the park there were bright yellow Louisiana irises in bloom everywhere. If you haven’t been yet, get over to the park to see the display – it’s incredible. The purple and yellow ones are blooming and the white ones are on their way. I was in such a good mood even though it’s Monday morning and I have an incredible amount of work to do this week.
So when Loca went to the bathroom, I bagged it and noted we were right by the City Park Avenue entrance where there is conveniently a trash can, one of the few on this side of the park and so we trotted towards it but I spied a woman with two white moppy dogs and she was coming right at me with the dogs on those stupid leashes that go all the way out with some button the owner pushes, and her dogs were going off in either direction and I said to her, “My dog is not friendly.” I wanted to nip in the bud her approaching with these hors d’oeuvre for Loca, and I had Loca firmly in a heel and she was performing beautifully. The woman looked at me as if I had said I’m crazy. We deposited the poop bag in the trash and then we were making our way back along the path with the woman and her two little white dogs going in either direction as before and so I called to her, “I’m going to pass you on the side but my dog has a thing for little white dogs, so we won’t stop.”
She spun around on her heels and said, “Then why the hell are you following us. You came right to us twice, and you know your dog is out of control. What are you? A moron? Why do you…?”
Before she could finish, I assessed the situation quickly – woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown accompanied by two rat like white dogs headed in either direction – a manifestation of her inner wee chaos. And so I said, “We’re trying to walk around you and I was just giving you a warning.”
“You are deliberately following us.”
“No, actually I’m not.”
“There is something wrong with you. And your dog is out of control.”
Newsflash – Loca was performing beautifully in a heel.
I smiled and nodded patiently to the insane woman. “Lady, I’m sorry you woke on the wrong side of the bed, but I’m not going to let you blemish my perfect morning. And perhaps you might look at the fact that your dogs are not in control as they are going off in either direction. Maybe you should look at what you are doing in this situation which I see is nothing. Have a nice day.”
“FUCK YOU, YOU MORON!”
So lesson number one, there was the urge to just ignore her at the beginning but you know, sometimes you shouldn’t let people alone with their own poisonous thoughts, if you have the chance to shed light on their puny world view. But, you must make sure to take out your Wonder Woman shield and not the let poisonous darts pierce you because this is not about you. It is about them and keep it that way.
Loca continued to perform like a champ and we passed the woman who rescued Sugar Pie after the storm and I said, “How’s it going?” And the woman said, “She’s still nuts as ever.” And I said, “A good kind of nut.”
And my day continued on in its glorious fashion. Something I’ve learned from yoga, a therapist, the I Ching master in Shanghai and life is this … it is not good to be too aggressive nor to be too passive, instead there is a balance. Then I saw my horoscope:
April 05, 2010
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Taurus (4/20-5/20)Someone nearby may start to preach when you come near, but you don’t have to provide a permanent audience, especially if you have your own life to lead — and you very definitely do, right? If you feel up to it, go ahead and engage them in a little open-minded debate. You might expose them to a different point of view that they’ve never considered, and you can make that your good deed for the day.
I really identify with this story. You handled the situation with aplomb in my opinion. I didn’t handle mine as well, and my daughter’s dog (that I was keeping while she was in Germany on post-doc) and I both got maced by a horrible woman. I still steam when I think of it.
Good lord! After a moment of trying to reason I realized she was nuts – and you know there are a lot of nuts out there – but nuts with mace have got to be the worse!