« Documents on New Orleans Education | Main | How Hard is Medical School? »
May 3, 2006
The Toddler and the 150 Pound Dog
I was studying at Barnes and Noble, and an old man was sitting next to the window. Outside, on the other side of the window was his dog. Amidst the chatter, which is the reason I go to there, I overheard him tell another fellow the dog was 150 pounds. It was huge. And lean. I could see its ribs and muscles, the ridges of the vertebrae protruding under the skin. Not a fat dog, 150 pounds of muscle and bone. Laying in the shade, next to the window, unrestrained. Obedient. From stage right a woman walked the sidewalk toward her gold Lexus SUV, parked in front of the dog. Her hair was nearly the same hue as the car's. Behind her, like a lone duckling, her daughter followed. Her hair was a shade lighter than her mother's and longer, possibly all the hair she had grown in her short life.
Mom needed to put her purchases in the car, so she left her daughter at the curb, opening the driver's door. The door was now between her and her daughter. Nothing was between her daughter and the dog. Daughter saw the doggy. And waved. And smiled. Mom reached into the back seat. Daughter, in her white cotton sundress and white sandels, took a wobbly step toward the dog. The old man looked up. And rapped on the glass. Daughter looked up and saw him. And smiled even more. Two friends! A doggy and a grandpa! Yay! He rapped on the glass repeatedly. She stepped closer, halving the distance between her and the dog. His head came up. The man was pounding the glass and waving his hands. Shaking his head. I was about to run out to the curb. I should have run earlier. The dog cocked his head a bit to one side. Daughter's gaze caught the dog's. Everyone was looking. Daughter leaned her head toward the dog, reaching up to pet him with her left hand. His ears were bigger than her hand. Mom stood up. Still looking in the car. She turned. Stepped. Closed the car door. Smiled. Daughter looked up and back, over her shoulder, at Mom. And smiled. And reaching out her hand, pointed to the dog. She must have felt the dog's breath on her finger. The old man had stopped waving. Daughter and Mom stepped toward each other and away they went, down the sidewalk, toward the framing store.
Posted by Niels Olson at May 3, 2006 5:20 PM
Comments
I thought for sure the girl was a goner!
Posted by: Nicole at May 3, 2006 6:20 PM
I'm with Nicole on that! Any time dogs and kids are anywhere near each other someone needs to be paying serious attention, and not through a window. At least the dog's owner was trying to dissuade the kid, but he needed to get off his duff and be a little more obvious about it. And Ma Lexus obviously doesn't know how much damage a dog can do in not much more than the blink of an eye. This one was way too close.
Posted by: Bob at May 4, 2006 12:12 PM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)