The Show Dog Runs…

I take my dog to a nearby park every day for her walk. She is almost 13, and our neighborhood is very hilly. She gets around just fine, but the level paths at the park are much easier for her to navigate. She stills likes to chase squirrels and there are plenty of wide, open spaces at the park for her to chase them.

Claudia is a standard poodle. I let her hair grow kind of long in the winter and keep her ears groomed like other dogs. She’s a good size, about 50 pounds and the only concession I will allow to her “Poodleness” is a small, poof at the end of her tail. She’s been an amazing dog that we never had to train. She has always been a voice command dog; we do not ever need to leash her (although we do in strange surroundings). She follows me and watches me and never gets too far away when walking. If she needs a correction (which she rarely does) I give a quick command and she obeys. She will not touch any left out food and will only eat when you give her permission, including her own food. I have no idea why she is this way, she just is.

At the park, I enjoy meeting other dog owners and their dogs and I usually have treats in my pockets just for them (the dogs, not the owners). Last week I met an elderly man with his two, large breed dogs.

The first thing you need to know is that the man was from Connecticut (he told me that several times in the first few minutes). Is there something extra special about people or dogs from Connecticut? He was visiting his daughter and then he told me that his dogs were SHOW dogs.

Oh, I see….what?

He rambled on for a long time, while Claudia patiently waited about 15 feet away. She was sitting and following our conversation while his dogs sniffed about. He proceeded to detail the countless hours of training they had, how strict he and his wife were with their diets and how invested they had been with their careers. I listened, but I was really just interested in giving them loving strokes and treats.

His dogs were delightful; I’m not sure what they were (he told me one was an Egyptian something but he talked so quickly with so many words that it all just went in one ear and out the next).

One was 10; he looked like a big ole, brown hound dog, and had lost most of his eyesight. He became my new BFF when I gave him a treat. The other was 3, was large, white, and had terrier like hair. As I gave him a treat I was told that he was a champion! He was the big winner at Madison Square Garden three years ago.

After telling me that, the man finally paused to allow me to express my praise and amazement. I said, “Wow, a celebrity!” and I smiled (for extra emphasis).

Finally, the man noticed Claudia. He asked what kind she was and I told him. Because she was so patient, and was so observant he said, “It looks like she has had lots of training.”

I honestly answered, “No, she just came that way.”

“No, training? Not even as a puppy?”

“No.”

“How did you teach her to be off leash so nicely?”

“I didn’t, she just sits when I talk and follows when I walk.”

Then he asked how old she was. I told him her age and he was amazed at what good shape she was in. Then he tried again with, “I bet you watch her food pretty closely. She’s so fit.”

By now I honestly felt kind of felt badly when I said, “No, we really don’t. She eats what she wants and stops eating when she is full. She doesn’t beg and doesn’t often eat offered treats.”

Then we started walking. He explained what brilliant hunters his dogs were and how the white one and just caught a squirrel yesterday. He didn’t kill it (because of course, he KNOWS better).

Don’t get me started on dogs and squirrels. Claudia has caught several in her day and unlike the SHOW dogs, she kills them because she doesn’t know better, she’s just a dog. I freaked out each and every time but that is an entirely different story…

As we walked by the playground, I gave him a warning (as his dogs were unleashed –despite the two leashes in his hand). I told him that I always had to watch Claudia carefully at the far end of the park, near the street. It was a busy street and squirrels frequently ran from the park to the woods on the side adjacent to it. I joked that I felt like a Secret Service agent - always looking for squirrels and redirecting Claudia’s attention if I spotted any.

He kind of blew me off (after all, his dogs were SHOW dogs).

I wished him a good walk as Claudia and I picked up the pace. His dogs were off wandering in the woods and being rather pokey; Claudia and I like to WALK.

As we neared the street, there were several squirrels, with acorns in their mouths scampering about. Claudia was definitely interested, but I herded her over to the side closer to the pond and gave her a stern “no” when she looked like she would rather be on the side with her furry “friends.” We successfully rounded the danger zone and I set her off to the woods to look for some “playmates”.

Then I heard him. He screamed, “Get back here!” As I turned, I saw the white dog run after two squirrels and ran right across the street without a thought to the man. He chased them playfully and then just sat in the woods looking at the man who was yelling at him to return.

The man was a moron, even if he was from “Connecticut.” He was a Connecticut moron.

Two things: 1) Why would any dog want to return to someone that is screaming with such a loud and threatening voice? And, 2) Why was he screaming at him? He should have crossed the street with his leash and brought him safely back.

As he continued to yell, the dog eventually decided to return and you guessed it, right when a car was coming (exactly what I feared). Fortunately, the car saw the dog, and slammed on its breaks, narrowly missing him ( and no doubt a law suit).

I turned and walked on but when I looked over my shoulder both SHOW dogs were now on leashes.

Claudia kept exploring as I kept walking. She caught up to me and then ran off happily cantering across the baseball field.

OK, I admit. I was feeling smug. I couldn’t have been more proud of her than if she was a champion, at Madison Square Garden ☺