Mean Dog Owners

This morning I took the baby for a walk in her stroller, and we headed over to Carpenter Woods, a glorious patch of wooded paths near our home. These woods keep us happy, and often I drop Samira at the bus, and head into the woods with the baby, for the best way to start the day that I know. My neighborhood is often pulled into the dogs-versus-everyone else debate over these woods, with dog owners claiming that they just must walk their dogs off leash, and others saying, well, it's against the law, please don't.

I've never paid too much attention. Dogs never bothered me; my best friend is a dog owner. I figured there was room for all.

Until this morning, when at 50 yards inside the woods, I heard a man screaming at me to guard my baby as his huge monster of a dog rushed our way and before I could get in front of the stroller and block the dog's path he had already reached the baby's stroller, and she was screaming.

Amelia likes dogs. She loves Max, who hangs out in front of the High Point. She likes all the really well trained dogs she meets. Too bad she had to meet this one.

His owner, too. In our neighborhood there's a Town Watch, and we're taught to be mindful of descriptive details of people who break the law, so we can report them to the police. That's the Town Watch strategy for trying to cut down on the break-ins and muggings that happen with more and more frequency here. We're told to call 911 immediately when we see anything happening; even if the police can't get here, it's part of the electronic records they keep. As the attacking-dog event unfolded, all I could think was: middle-aged white male, tall, brownish hair, wearing dull green polo shirt.

The baby is okay. I calmed her down and we returned to the sidewalk to continue our walk, not wanting to deal with a huge array of off-leash dogs, including two others who rushed toward us a few minutes later, only to turn away at the last minute (in the ownership of two men; I told them it was the law to keep their dogs leashed, and they snarled at me too: was this off leash dog protest day? I swear I've never seen this much dog action here before).

The worst part of it: the man yelled at me. Yes, he really did. I couldn't believe it. I told him, as he struggled, to get his dog back onto the leash, as I stood between the dog and the baby, that it was illegal to walk dogs off leash in Carpenter Woods. Maybe he always speaks in a raised, mean voice. He did actually snarl to me that " everyone does it."

And you know what, in a neighborhood that tries to be civil, where people really do try to live together well, to cooperate, and to build community spirit, this man with he off leash dog that attacked my baby's stroller never apologized. Not once.