Thursday, August 23

disappearing hands + HNT

My dog loves people. She would never dare attack a human, but she doesn't count little kids as people.

At the shops this morning, I found a lamp-post to tie the dog up, but there was a full-on mothers-and-kiddies circus going on nearby. Rather than leave the dog alone in the middle of that, I stuck around amidst the ear-splitting commotion and waited for them to move on.

Just as the show finally got moving, the lead toddler spotted my dog, and my heart sank as the wee thing ran over to us.

I appealed to the mother, who was disappearing up the road. I said "My dog's not good with little kids" and I hoped she would take the hint.

The mother responded in that sing-song voice of reality-denial: "come away darling, some dogs don't like little children."

The kid was too young to understand English, but the intonation of the mother's voice said "go ahead darling," and so it kept on coming.

So to fend the thing off for its own safety, I tried addressing it in dog language. I shoved my hand in its cheery face, and said "No! Go away!" Sensing a new game, the delighted toddler swerved around me and launched itself towards the dog, still sitting obediently but anxiously beside me.

By repeated side-stepping, I was able to keep my body between the suicidal kid and the dog. But then with a final lunge it got around me and with a triumphant scream poked its fingers in the dog's face.

Now the dog lost patience. Munch! The kid's wee hand disappeared up to the wrist into the dog's mouth. Tears flowed, but no blood.

Perhaps I should have admonished my dog, but it was all I could do to keep my own hand from disappearing into my trouser-pocket, where I keep the chunks of dried liver jerky.




HNT_1


If you're desperate, you can access all the old half baked thursday posts here.

19 comments:

  1. Some parents just don't get it... and I KNOW parents! Happy HNT!

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  2. That story was told so well that I could visualize it as though I was there witnessing it.
    I think the parent should have made a little more of an effort to keep that child in line.

    Happy HNT Rob!!!!
    ~xo
    Lee Ann

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  3. parents who let children approach a strange dog without intervening should not be surprised when things like this happen. very foolish woman. i'm glad there was no blood involved though.

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  4. calling the child and 'thing' and 'it' had me smiling. You should have just let the kid get the dog unopposed, went after the mother and slapped her.

    HAPPY HNT!

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  5. Chomp. Totally ate up your write. Cheers and Happy HNT!

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  6. Grr....that kind of thing just pisses me right off. It is the parents responsibility to teach their children to NEVER approach a dog unless the owner is asked.

    I have that kind of thing happen w/ my little rat dog, who doesn't like pple he doesn't know, much less little ones that stick their hands straight into his face. They usually get snapped at.

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  7. LOL, I love that you spoke to the child like a dog...

    hey, my dog behaves better than most kids so I get it.

    Happy HNT!

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  8. There are very few bad dogs but there are an awful lot of bad parents. Glad the child learned a lesson with no harm done. HHNT

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  9. Sould of offered the mom some Jerky...Happy HNT!

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  10. Isay!

    Hereabouts in Kalimbuka one never goes near a strange dog. Might have rabies.

    I once had to fend off a rabid dog in our garden with a chair and a broom handle, whilst ushering Casper and Farley into the house (which they promptly wrecked, as they are not used to being in houses).

    The rabid dog died overnight, in our garden.

    I asked Doviko "How does one dispose of rabid dogs?" As usual, he took care of it.

    "...with a final lunge it got around me..." If you are to become a cricket fielder at cricket, you will need to improve your technique.

    MM III

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  11. Albert? I can't remember how I got here. Is this Sweden? What did the kid do? Have you eaten it yet? This bloggy is turning into a bit of a soap opera, eh? Hotboy

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  12. The dog. The dog is an Australian dog. It will jump above the barby to eat the sparks. It's funging nutters, this dog. The kid gets anywhere near it and it's history. So I hope to have evened this up for us all. Hotboy

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  13. The more I look, the better it gets! The dog has it's face strapped up before it's allowed out ... the kid approaching .. I know you don't like kids because they're messy and after the toilet training you had to undergo ... well, at least the kid survived. Somebody will ... Saturday night here, Albert! Hope you swim like a dolphin! Hotboy

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  14. I am glad no one was hurt, that was a great post! no harm done, lesson learned :)

    HHNT

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  15. I had a dog that I could not take off my property...she saw children as steaks...other dogs as roast chickens...
    (you know, like in cartoons! LOL)

    HHNT

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  16. Great story! And I'd be tempted to reward my pup too! What's with parents these days? And don't get me started on the little rug rats and the rampant bad behavior abounding...

    You went WAY out of your way to keep an eye out for the kid that wasn't even yours. Very admirable. :)

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  17. No, no, no, no... Your dog should be nice with kiddies...
    Mines are better be...
    And at the same time, Ièm upset at the mom not taking the warning seriously... First rule for kiddies... do not apprach strangers... human of animals without being in presence of your parents...
    But... two wrongs arenèt making one right, isn't it?
    BTW... your dog isn't tht bad if a bit of the kid was left for the mom to take back home... ;-)

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  18. Albert? Why didn't you just kick the kid aside? You obviously know nithing about how to deal with ankle biters. You kick it over, crying, oh, no, there, there ... the dog's asleep by the time all that's sorted out. Hope this helps! Hotboy

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  19. I enjoyed laughing at the comments

    Searabbit - I know that's right, but it's the one thing I haven't been able to train her to do yet.

    Hotters - inadvisable where there's CCTV cameras.

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