Mad Dog Partner

Okay, I have to confess.  I was angry more than once on my trip home today with Chase.  I should say I was angry and I was with Chase at the time.  I was not angry with him, but with the knuckleheads we seemed to encounter along the way.

The first knucklehead was a guy who turned left in front of us as we stepped off the curb at Fourth and Oak Streets.  He actually came all the way from a parking spot along the curb across the street and cut in front of us.  I think Chase wanted to show him how he felt, but then remembered he doesn’t have fingers.  "Hey pal, you didn't notice the blind guy and his dog in the crosswalk?"

The second was a guy with a bike on BART.  We got into the crowded car, and a lady was nice enough to give up her seat.  As I sat and was trying to arrange me and Chase, the guy lost his grip on the bike and it fell on Chase.  I reminded him it wasn’t a good idea to bring his bike on BART when it’s crowded.  I think I used a tone that my children know very well.  For whatever reason, he and his bike got off at the next stop.

The third was a person coming out of the BART garage in Concord.  As Chase and I stepped off the curb at the garage exit, the person pulled his or her car half way into the crosswalk.  Chase is trained not to go near cars that are running.  So there we were stuck halfway across with a dog that balked.  He pushed me away from the car, and we got across.  But I did put the driver in the knucklehead category.

I’m trying to think generous and forgiving thoughts.  It helps to have a big dog to pet and scratch.  We played a little therapeutic tug of war tonight.  Chase assured me all will be well.