I am the official key holder for a small park area nearby and I open and close the gates every day. It's a lovely grassy area and people often take their dogs in there and let them off the lead, even though there are notices on the gates asking them to keep them on the lead.
I am not a dog person, but I understand that some people are and I am a live-and-let-live kind of person. So I frequently pick up the dog poo that owners have 'not noticed' because children also play in there. BUT I am very anxious when dogs, sometimes quite large ones, race over and jump up. Their owners generally laugh and say something like 'oh she just wants to play'. Sure. But I don't.
I generally stop and turn away, keeping my hands open and out of my pockets (since one owner kindly told me it was my fault that her dog jumped on me because 'obviously' it thought I had treats in my pockets
) and wait for the owner to control their dog (if I'm lucky). But in that time, I often have to endure the slobbery and sometimes snappy attention of their dogs.
Anyhow, what would the dog owners here suggest as the correct response to such dogs please to stop them jumping up and scaring me? Today it was two sturdy bullmastiffs. I was not amused.
This weather is getting me down. Is it May or March?
Book Title by Their Authors (Parlour Game)
