Loose Dog—"Oh! He's friendly!"

This kind of situation would not have been an issue for me had we not been blessed with Lucy. Lucy was aggressive with any dog who approached her—unless it was a puppy or a dog she knew. Lucy was always on a leash, not so other dogs, though some were on equally unmanageable flexi-leads. Somehow, dog owners assume that because their dog is non-aggressive, all will be well, but they don't consider the other dog. Lucy was beautifully behaved on a leash—unless charged by another dog.

I can't tell you the number of times people allowed their dog to zoom in our direction with the shout, "Oh (s)he's friendly!" (The flexi-lead walkers were almost always oblivious to the location of their dog.) No one ever bothered to ask if my dog was friendly. Usually, I could maneuver Luce away or yell to the owner to grab their dog before things got out of hand—but not always. A fight would occur and who was considered the guilty owner? I always felt horrible that Lucy was in a situation in which she clearly felt threatened. Her psyche was so fragile and I did my utmost to avoid those scenarios.

So I was quite taken aback the other day while walking mild-mannered Bella. A loose Golden Retriever, hackles raised, came rushing at us from behind some shrubs. What did the owners yell? "Oh, he's friendly!" In fact, there was no problem because Bella reacts beautifully in those kinds of circumstances, giving just the right doggie "I am not boss" signals. But that's besides the point as I don't want my girl to have to be in those situations. I had no time to extricate her or avoid the oncoming Golden. Had it been Lucy, there would have been no question of a fight.

The owners were walking their dog off leash. Mistake number one. Two, they assumed because their dog was friendly (although his approach was anything but), there would be no issue. Three, they made no attempt at calling their dog to them, but let the situation unfold. Trying to be as calm as possible, I explained why it was very unsafe for them to allow their dog to do that. They looked at me like the problem was mine. I feel very, very sorry for their pup. He may not be so lucky the next time he charges a dog.