Nice neighbor fail. I suck!

[Doberluv]

OMG! I can't believe I just did what I did. I was standing near my front door, looking out the window when a big black Lab mix with a woman ran through my garden where I've planted bulbs, making big holes, knocking bark all over the perfectly clean driveway and then up onto my porch. I stepped out and with mild irritation in my voice, said, "Ummm, this is a leash area." She said she was sorry, that her dog slipped out the front door and ran off and she was trying to get her and she was in her flip flops. I mumbled something, like..."oh." THEN I watched her take the dog by the collar and lead her back to her house, which was two doors down from me. OH GEE WIZ! It finally dawned on me this wasn't some random person taking her dog for a walk throughout the whole neighborhood without a leash. This was my neighbor! Oh GOSH. I felt like such a jerk....still do.

So, I grabbed one of my business cards and ran to her house, rang the bell and apologized for my over reaction, that I didn't realize she was my neighbor, but thought at first that she was someone walking her dog without a leash and asked her to forgive me. She also apologized and said she was about to call her husband to tell him about their incorrigible dog and that she feared I was going to call animal control or something. I said that I understood how dogs can dart out and not come back, that accidents happen and again how sorry I was for over reacting. (I wasn't that mad...just a tad irritated) Then, making the situation as advantageous as I could, I handed her my card and said if she needs any help training, I'm her "man." That'll probably go over like a lead balloon.

As an aside, I watched one day, as she spent about 15 minutes trying to coax this animal into her car...she didn't know how to jump up and was apprehensive. I was itching to go show her an easier way to teach the dog, but didn't. lol.

So I hope I redeemed myself. That was not a very good display of patience, the very thing have in pretty good supply when it comes to animals....of the non-human variety.

 

[SaraB]

At least you went over there to set thing straight, I probably would've hid out in my house like a hermit anytime they were in their front yard. LOL

 

[Saeleofu]

I think you handled it well after the fact anyway. I would venture to guess most people wouldn't go apologize.

 

[eddieq]

Who knows, maybe you've made a new friend. My best friend and I got off on the wrong foot (he used to beat me up in jr. high school). We were best man at each of our weddings and I'm Godfather to his oldest child now

 

[HayleyMarie]

Kudo's to you for handling it the way you did. I probably would have hidden away.

 

[Doberluv]

Eddie, that's an incredible story. How cool that you became such good friends.

Thanks everyone. I hope that gal doesn't feel too badly. It has to be really hard when your dog escapes and so frustrating....when it's under trained like that. I just wish I hadn't been so dumb to suppose someone would actually be walking around like that, leashless on purpose in an area like this...totally not out in the country. Like...duh, of course the dog slipped out of someone's house.

Thanks!

 

[Labyrinth]

I think you handled it well. I'm with the others, I probably would have just hidden if I saw them outside after that instead of going over

Unfortunately plenty of people do go without leashes in more populated areas. We've even got a few dogs in our neighborhood that are just out wandering on their own with nobody in sight. I caught one once and had her scanned for a chip thinking she was just a runaway (she was in heat), but someone let her out of my backyard by the time I went back there to get a picture and bring her some food. That was about two and a half years ago. Recently saw the same dog wandering around my street (which is right off of a busy street), once again in heat No idea who she belongs to.

 

[Doberluv]

Thanks Lab! I would have liked to crawl under a table and hidden, I was so mortified by my own behavior. But I had to suck it up and try to make it better. And I did it immediately before I would chicken out and before all kinds of damaging emotions would have the chance to fester in my neighbor's mind. I just felt compelled to turn things around if possible as quickly as possible.

That's awful, isn't it, that people don't look after their dogs and let them run around unsupervised, with no leash in an unsafe area or where a lot of people live. Yes, I have seen that too, not in my immediate neighborhood, but in some surrounding ones. I did see an old, over weight dog wandering around the other day when I walked several streets away from where I live. He didn't look like he'd wander very far, as he was very sluggish and unambitious looking. But I was not sure if he would come after my Chi's or not at first. That always makes me a little nervous too. I think it's just awful that people let their dogs wander around where there can be a busy road, which there is not too far. And that you've seen a dog in heat wandering around....that's just beyond me. Arrrrgggg!