Day 284 - Rose Hill Manor

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

***Scroll down to see my offer for Red Cross donations.***

Busy as a...well, you know.

It angers me that people who are under the misguided assumption that they have their dogs under voice command feel that they can ignore the county leash laws.  My otherwise nice walk (between storms) today at Rose Hill Manor was spoiled by one such person.

These dogs I like.

The man and his dog were jogging a good 200 yards away from me on the rear part of the park at Rose Hill, but when the dog spied me walking near the windmill on the opposite side of the stream, he made a beeline for me.  Because the owner of the dog was running ahead of him, he did not realize that the dog was no longer following him.  The dog bounded down the meadow, jumped into the stream, and stood there, barking at me.  I froze in place by the windmill.  The dog continued to bark, and climbed out of the stream, moving slowly toward me, still quite a distance, but nevertheless, making advances.

Rose Hill's rose garden

Window in the garden

Now most of my dog loving friends would have been calling to the dog and saying "Come here, sweetie," or some such endearment, but I instead called to the owner.  "Sir!" I yelled to the man who could not be seen behind the trees lining the stream.  "Can you please call your dog?"

He suddenly realized what was happening, and ran to get the dog, calling his name.  The dog ignored him and continued his advance on me.  The man crossed the stream and continued to call the dog, but the dog started circling me, barking and lunging.  I yelled, "Where is your leash?  Doesn't the dog even have a collar?"

The man said, "He's never done this before.  He doesn't bite.  Look, he's wagging his tail."  I don't care, but lunging and barking, with or without tail wagging, is enough to terrify me, especially when the owner clearly has no control over the dog.

The offenders

Mr. Helpful said, "It must be your camera that has thrown him off."  Oh, give me a break!  Clearly, your dog is more interested in scaring me off than in having me take his picture, I thought.

"Should I just walk slowly away?" I asked, as the man attempted to grab the collarless dog.

 "No," he said, "I'll get him."  Finally, the owner grabbed the dog by the scruff of his neck and practically had to drag him away, back across the stream.

I made up my mind on my way home.  If I had encountered a loose dog like that, acting aggressively, with no one around to control (or attempt to control) the dog, I'd have been defenseless.  It's time to get that pepper spray.  

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

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Forward me by email any receipt for an online donation made to the Red Cross for disaster relief, and I will send you a 5x7 print of your choice from any of my daily photo walks or from my website.  Offer good until September 2, 2013.

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
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Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use whatever camera is easy and convenient for walking comfortably; always have a backup camera at the ready in case of mishaps (I use the Nikon Coolpix P7700)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so