Monday, June 14, 2010

I'm not above fighting with old men

I have what's called a "short temper." Some days, it's shorter than others. I know this. You know this. It's just a fact.

Today, my short temper reared it's ugly head and I got into a fight with a 70-year-old man.

Don't judge me.

You see, I was walking my DEADLY MURDEROUS PIT BULL KILLING MACHINE through the neighborhood after work. As we passed one of the small parks, a child almost walked into him. Rocco halfway glanced at the kid and we kept walking... Until the kid's grandpa grabbed him and said, "That dog almost got you!"

Uh, slow reaction time aside, Gramps, I assure you, your kid was in no danger. So, because he's old and I'm trying to control my temper, I let it go.

But he didn't.

He said to the child, "That's a pit bull. That's a dangerous dog."

OH, NO YOU DIDN'T.

I whipped around and walked back to him.

"Excuse me, what did you say?" I asked in that tone.

"That's a pit bull," he said.

"Yeah, and?" I challenged.

"That's a dangerous dog, not a pet."

Well, folks, I kinda lost it on this old man. I mouthed off about how this is most certainly NOT a dangerous dog and threw in a few are-you-KIDDING-me's and dramatic eye rolls every time he tried to correct me. However, you'll be pleased to know that I did not say bad words because the kids were there. That said, it was still not a pretty scene.

He even told be how back in Mexico, he saw a pit bull attack a German Shepherd.

"That's great," I said snidely, "but you know chihuahuas and tiny dogs attack like that too. All dogs can, not just pit bulls! It's ridiculous to think otherwise, come ON."

Our exchange went on until I walked off calling him an asshole under my breath.

Meanwhile, my dog? Sat down and waited until Mommy was done arguing with an old dude.

For the rest of the walk, I was ranting and raving about the ignorance of some people and how absolutely disgusting it is that adults actually TEACH their children to fear a dog because of its breed. I was in the middle of my not-so-quiet rage when I heard a tiny voice.

"Hey, can we pet your dog?"

I turned and saw three young children behind their fence, smiling eagerly.

My heart softened and I walked The Killing Machine over to the kids. He sat down while they pet him, asked his name, giggled and single-handedly erased my anger. They were so sweet to him, blissfully unaware of the stereotypes and prejudice that we face nearly every day we walk. They made me smile, too. I almost didn't want to leave.

As Roc and I turned around to finish our walk, I was happily gearing up for Round 2 with the old man, but, alas, he had departed. (No doubt whisking his grandkids away before they had a chance to be murdered by my dog on our return route.)

Oh well, I shrugged. Can't win 'em all.

So, when enraged, go find some cute neighborhood kids to hang out with, grab a much-needed beer, cuddle with your pup and thank God you are so lucky to have such a well-behaved, gentle creature in your life.



17 comments:

Jessica (Bayjb) said...

Wow that guy has some gaul saying that. Can we say, narrow minded?

Whiskeymarie said...

How ignorant. Even if you have had a bad experience with a particular breed of dog, it makes no sense whatsoever to lump them all into the "bad" category. Does this carry over into other areas of life? Like, if I have a bad server at a restaurant, should I quit eating out?

And honestly, I don't really think that there are very many actual "bad" dogs out there- just lots of really bad owners.

Kaci said...

Good for you! Regardless of age, people need to learn that stereotypes are WRONG. Your dog looks very sweet and I wish I could meet him!

TKTC said...

I love that big dopey murder machine. And fully support your vocal crusade against ignorance. And chihuahuas (not to be breedist but those suckers are annoying. Annoying can be fatal for short tempers like ours).

Brick Cedar said...

I love Rocco, I mean LOVE Rocco.

Melly Mel said...

What a narrow minded freak. Rocco is cute...I was about to adopt a pit but I already have a dog and my boyfriend's 2 stupid cats. I can't bring one more animal in our tiny apartment.

Lisa said...

Jess: I know! Usually people just walk across the street when we see us, so I've never run into someone so aggressive about it.

Whiskeymarie: Agreed, there are tons of bad owners. And I totally get that pits are stronger than most dogs, but, my god, I've never seen such a cuddly little pup.

Kaci: Thanks! He IS sweet.

TKTC: I imagine that if you were there with me, it would have gotten far uglier. Which would have been fantastic.

Brick: Awww, he loves his Uncle Dan!

Life in the Cube: I hear ya. It's hard for pits to find home because of men like this asshole, so when someone like you is at least willing to adopt, it makes me feel better. :-)

Rachel @ MWF Seeking BFF said...

Because I am not a dog person, I am even more determined to teach my kids to like dogs. It is a HUGE hassle to not like dogs. People think you're heartless, first of all. And when you have, say, book club at a dog-owners house you end tiptoeing around like an a-hole because you just want to walk down the hallway without getting dog smelliness on you. It's a pain the arse. For the person. The dog could care less. The point of this rant is that if my kid wanted to pet any kind of dog, and the owner said it was ok I would totally encourage it. I wouldn't want my little one to bear this burden. I would just watch him from, like, twenty feet back.

Maris said...

He's an idiot. I was walking little miss lulu this weekend and she almost took a three year old girl's hand off. Mom was unfazed and girl jumped away GIGGLING like was hilarious while I had a silent panic attack that Ang and I were both going to get sued.

Jamie said...

I HATE people like that.

If I were to get a second dog, it would be a pit bull. Edie is kind of high maintenance though and prefers to be the only dog, hah.

Every pit I've ever met has been a big, huge love. The only way they would ever hurt is that they don't recognize their own strength when LOVING on you. I almost stole two of the sweetest ones while walking into work the other day. They were such good, cute pups!

Chris Burrows said...

Five dogs here, all rescues; it's not the breed of the dog, it is often the kind of owners who treat them badly that earn certain breeds a bad reputation.
I just found you by accident I was googling Scleroderma which I have and your blog popped up. Red wine my favourite treatment!

Lisa said...

Rachel: That's all I wish this guy would do. Even if he HATES pit bulls ONLY, don't spread that message to little kids!

Maris: Oh Luuuu.

Jamie: I think I'm a one-dog mom myself, but I would definitely get another pit bull too. They have such a hard time getting adopted into loving homes.

Chrows25: Welcome! Sorry to hear you have scleroderma. :-( Treatment of red wine and plenty of pups sounds like a great plan!

Leah said...

Pit bulls have such a bad rap. But so many people don't understand that any animal will turn mean if they're raised to be that way. Your dog seems like a sweetheart. Keep sticking up for him!

Anonymous said...

What a prick! And good for you for sticking up for your evil killer dog! Ugh. I hate the bad rap pit bulls get. They're so sweet!

yours truly, melissa said...

A dog trainer once told me that pit bulls were the best kind of dogs to have around kids!

I can't believe he told you that your dog was not a pet! People are so insensitive and ignorant sometimes.

Also he's really cute!

The Constant Complainer said...

Wow, it sounds like you walked right into drama central there. But I'm glad you stuck up for yourself and your dog. Like you said; clearly nothing happened and there was no danger. Incidents (and accidents) happen with dogs, BUT they happen with all breeds of dogs. We have taught our daughter that it doesn't matter what breed it is - you don't run up and try to pet it, etc.

And for what it's worth, I once got into it with an old man because he was smoking literally halfway inside the entrance to the post office where I was trying to exit. Age doesn't matter sometimes. LOL.

The Constant Complainer said...

Another blog I read just did a post about pitt bulls and parents' feelings on them and other dogs. So I just came back to share the link with you.

http://hopestudios.blogspot.com/2010/06/are-pit-bulls-safe-with-kids-feedback.html

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