Seriously...

I've had a couple of experiences this week that reminded me just how lucky I am.

Bosco and I were out on a walk through my neighborhood when a couple of Golden Retrievers bounced out of their open garage and started jumping all over us.  They just wanted to play, but you know what blondes Goldens are----and they won't take "no" for an answer.  Janet kept trying to get them to back off while they sniffed us and jumped on us and crawled under us and got tangled in our feet and leashes.  These idiot dogs were relentless.  And they kept following us down the street.  Finally Bernie asked a boy to knock on the door and ask if the humans could please get their dogs under control.  I was getting close to giving them a piece of my mind.  But I knew I had to keep my cool---otherwise I could just visualise the headlines, "Pet Golden Retrievers attacked by Pit Bull".  Janet kept reassuring me that I was doing all the right things.  After it was over at least I got lots of praise and treats....

Next I experienced bully prejudice first-hand when I went to check out a local trainer's class.  All the dogs in this drop in session obviously already knew each other.  There wasn't another bully-type in the group.  When I walked in quietly on my leash and we sat down at a reasonable distance from the other dogs to give everyone plenty of space, one of the human handlers said, "That animal's just a biting machine".  I thought that was totally uncalled for.  I managed to ignore the Boston Terrier that kept barking and trying to get me in trouble.  I already knew how to do almost all the training exercises, and I never made a sound.  But I was pretty much glued to some part of Janet's body the entire session.  It was really stressful.

So I'm looking forward to a quiet walk in the country tonight with Bosco, and my class in Berkeley on Sunday where I'll be with people and dogs who appreciate me for who I am.  I can't thank Bad Rap enough for giving me & Janet the tools to deal with these situations, or thank BACS and its amazing volunteers enough for all the love and support they gave (and continue to give) me.  I'm a VERY LUCKY DOG!!