About a week and a half ago, we took our vintage 1965 Fan trailer on its first trip since we have worked on it. I cleaned it up---it took about 4 days, as every surface had to be cleaned about 4 times---wash, scrub, rinse and dry off. Then, Bret had to re-do the electric and make sure that there were no leaks. He also scraped the whole trailer and re-painted it a bright white. I, in turn, found heavy material in a cool teal, cobalt and ceruelean blue stripe for the cushion covers and the curtains. I tried to find them online, but they was too expensive, so I just sewed them up! Yes, I have been sewing since I was 8 years old, sewing all my own clothes up until I went to college, so it is something that I can do... Even though the only thing that I sew now are couch slipcovers, and sometimes the random pillow cover.
So, we decided to go camping to the beach. There are lots of great beaches on the eastern shore and the one we picked was a State Park, Salisbury Beach, about an hour from our house. Maryn was able to go with us, as she hasn't found a job yet, so it was great to have her"back with the family".
Bret had given me a bike for my birthday, so we went biking, and we borrowed four kayaks from another friend (even though we have a canoe, we thought that we would do something new) and we paddled around in the rivers that were connected to the bay off the ocean. We took the puppies, and they were great in the trailer, never once having a piddle accident, and never causing any problems....well, until the last day...
Yes, that last day was an interesting one. I had taken the puppies on several walks around the campground during the week and most of the people that saw them remarked on how cute they were and asked what kind of dog they were, etc. If the puppies ever barked, I corrected them, but most everyone was tolerant, as...well....lets face it...they are adorable!
So, on that last day before we left, Bret and Aydan were down at the ocean fishing, just standing on the beach. I took the puppies and sat there on a towel, reading and relaxing. It was a picture perfect day. The sky was blue, with the occasional white puffy cloud. There was a slight cool breeze that kept it cool enough, as the sun was quite warm on our heads. The beach wasn't crowded that last day, as it was close to suppertime and most people had headed back.
I thought that it was a perfect time to take the puppies for a walk up the beach, without their leashes on. Now before you chastise me for being irresponsible, let me tell you that I walk about 3 times a week with them in the conservation area across from our house, and they are great about coming when I give the command and we have even practiced not barking when encountering another dog, etc. on the walk. They always stay with me, or come when I call, so I felt confident doing this. Besides, I had seen two other dogs running up and down the beach earlier...both of them large Lab breeds, and a whole lot scarier to strangers!
Everything went fine...until we came around a corner where there was a family on the beach. There was a little girl, about 5 years old running around back and forth...yelling with excitement.
Now, I don't know about you, but when a small 4 pound puppy sees a little girl running around and screaming, she wants to join in the fun!
Mignon took off after her, barking with glee...not a good thing, I guess, because the child went running to her mother, while I called "Come" to Mignon, to get her calmed down and back on track. We were continuing on fine, as I assured the mother that Mignon just wanted to play and was harmless...."Whew, I thought, that was a close one".... No sooner had I thought that when the little brat....er....child...started running back down the beach...RIGHT PAST US AGAIN!!!
Well, you can imagine what happened... Sheer mayhem! Mignon was overjoyed to have her come play again and took off after her...barking all the way...
This time it was disastrous. The woman ran after her daughter and scooped her up, yelling at me to get my vicious dog away from her children! (Now keep in mind that Mignon's legs are about two inches tall) so I corralled Mignon and apologized, but was laughing a bit at the womans overreaction. All of a sudden, a man came up behind me yelling obscenities at me and telling me that it wasn't funny---that I was endangering his children with my vicious dog! He was Italian, I believe, from the accent, and he laid into me and called me several names....the nicest being "idiot"---well, you get the picture.
Now, did I yell back? Did I stomp off in a rage? Did I punch this guy out?
No, since my own young son, Aydan was getting a little freaked out by the anger and venom flying in the air, I tried to keep my cool and use humor and quiet understanding. But what I actually did was smile and start singing a church Primary song, "Let's Be Kind to One Another".
I know....its weird... But one never knows how one will handle explosive situations when they happen. I then turned around, still smiling, trying to look composed, but shaking inside all the same, while the strains of the man's and woman's yelling about me being a stupid, crazy woman still rang in my ears.
I have to admit that it shook me to the core, as I realized that there are some really scary, violent people out there and we never know when or where they will strike.
Now,....we did all recover... I have learned my lesson in trusting my ability to corral my "vicious dog", and I am going to be a little more cautious when walking them in public places, but then again, I am going to be a little more cautious about people also.
You never know when one might attack you...
