Dog Days of Summer

I'm not a dog lover, nor a dog hater  and I've had  and still have some favorite dogs in my life.  I  have  some good friends whose preferences in dogs leave me puzzled - I'm talking about the two with Pit Bulls, the one with the Rottweilers and the one with the Rhodesian Ridgeback.  I'm still their friend, but not a willing visitor to their homes.  Sorry, guys, they scare me.  

 But this post is not about them - it is about the certain breed of dog owners who have popped into my life way too often lately.

• Gold Coast dog owners who walk their pets on the lawn of our dog free building with no visible signs of a clean up device
• Farmers' Market goers who think the rest of us enjoy their mutts slobbering on the produce and tripping us with their leashes
• The neanderthal who brought his ill behaved dog to the 4th of July concert and let it bark all through the reading of the Declaration of Independence
• The beach goers who ignore the "no dogs" signs and see nothing wrong with letting their dogs pee in the same sand that toddlers love to dig in
• The matron who drags her poodle through Neiman Marcus and looks peeved if you don't smile approvingly at the doggy hairdo
• The  many whose dogs are in strollers, beach bags, purses and wagons.  If the dog can't walk along side of you - what's the point?

I'm sure you've got examples of your own - and just to be clear - this is not about the dogs it's about the dumb people who own them.  Before we had a family, we had Grandpa Jack's dog Spooky and one of own named Charles.   In New Jersey we had Beautiful Theresa - don't look at me, Joe let the kids name it. We also had the Moore's big dog Tippy whom we all loved. In River Forest we had Sam.  Sam is book waiting to be written about neurosis in canines.  We also had the Shefte's dog named Spot.  My sisters had two look alike dogs - Pebbles in Florida and Barnacle in Cape Cod.   Now the Florida crew has Princess. We are currently dogless and will remain so.

Our kids have some nifty dogs - Jody at last count was at two.  Very different, but great pets.  Terry's Daisy is sweet and gentle.  Kelli and Kevin's dog is a teacup variety and I'm afraid I'll sit on it - but it's well behaved.  Which brings us to two of the nicest family dogs ever.  They are recently deceased and missed.  They had loving responsible owners - unlike some of the characters I'm talking about.

Bridy with Finn

Goldy at Christmas

                                                                        

As for me, I'll just keep yelling at the irresponsible dogs owners and keep the dirty looks flying.