Little Doggie

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According to the National Day Calendar website, today is National Dog Day. According to the National Dog Day website,

National Dog Day celebrates all breeds, pure and mixed and serves to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year, either from public shelters, rescues and pure breed rescues. National Dog Day honors family dogs and dogs that work selflessly to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort.

In honor of National Dog Day, I’m sharing a story about a cute little pup I witnessed repeatedly escaping from his master on a slow day of trying to sell jewelry and shiny rocks.

I was trying to sell my jewelry and shiny rocks at an outdoor market near a tourist attraction, but there hadn’t been much interest in my merchandise. Some days are like that. Even with plenty of visitors milling about and lots of beautiful items on my table, I wasn’t selling much.

I had a lot of time to watch the tourists on that overcast and chilly day. People watching has always been one of my favorite activities, and I was enjoying seeing everyone come and go.

White Long Coated Dog on Grassland

Quite a ways down the road that runs through the area where the market is held, I saw a small, fluffy white dog that seemed to be on its own. It was standing on the edge between where the road becomes the parking area. The dog stood there calmly, apparently surveying the scene, but I worried about how close it was to moving traffic. In my experience, tourists are often lacking in observational skills, and I was afraid a driver would not notice the little dog and run it down. Just as I was about to get out of my chair and walk over to the dog, it turned around and walked back between parked cars. Disaster averted.

Maybe 10 or 15 minutes later I looked up from the bracelet I’d started making and saw the same little white fluffy dog much closer to me (only two vendors over) sitting in the middle of the roadway. I looked around for someone rushing over to scoop up and scold the dog, but no one seemed to be missing it. Was the dog out there alone?

Again, just as I was about to get out of my chair and approach the dog, it was no longer in danger. The fellow who’d been shopping with the vendor two tables down from me strode out into the road and picked up the pup and carried it to safety. Then he made a big production of snapping a leash onto the dog’s collar. If he had a leash, why had he hesitated to use it with a dog he must have known was a wanderer? Life is full of mysteries, but it seems to me that a wandering dog should certainly be leashed in a parking lot full of distracted drivers.

The fellow and his dog passed my table without a glance. It was that kind of day.

Not five minutes later, I looked up from my work again and saw the same little dog trotting across the road, making a beeline for some bikers taking a break. His leash trailed behind him.

His person was at another vendor’s table, seemingly so caught up in shopping that he couldn’t be bothered to hold onto his dog’s leash. Perhaps the dog was a master escape artist and his person could do little to keep him where he didn’t want to be. The truth of the matter is that I don’t know the whole story, and I shouldn’t judge. When the guy crossed the road to retrieve the doggie yet again, I wanted to run over and tell him he didn’t deserve such a cute dog, but I didn’t. I stayed in my chair and hoped he’d keep the little dog out of harm’s way.

Image courtesy of https://www.pexels.com/photo/nature-animal-dog-pet-33053/.

About Blaize Sun

My name is Blaize Sun. Maybe that's the name my family gave me; maybe it's not. In any case, that's the name I'm using here and now. I've been a rubber tramp for nearly a decade.I like to see places I've never seen before, and I like to visit the places I love again and again. For most of my years on the road, my primary residence was my van. For almost half of the time I was a van dweller, I was going it alone. Now I have a little travel trailer parked in a small RV park in a small desert town. I also have a minivan to travel in. When it gets too hot for me in my desert, I get in my minivan and move up in elevation to find cooler temperatures or I house sit in town in a place with air conditioning I was a work camper in a remote National Forest recreation area on a mountain for four seasons. I was a camp host and parking lot attendant for two seasons and wrote a book about my experiences called Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods. During the last two seasons as a work camper on that mountain, I was a clerk in a campground store. I'm also a house and pet sitter, and I pick up odd jobs when I can. I'm primarily a writer, but I also create beautiful little collages; hand make hemp jewelry and warm, colorful winter hats; and use my creative and artistic skills to decorate my life and brighten the lives of others. My goal (for my writing and my life) is to be real. I don't like fake, and I don't want to share fake. I want to share my authentic thoughts and feelings. I want to give others space and permission to share their authentic selves. Sometimes I think the best way to support others is to leave them alone and allow them to be. I am more than just a rubber tramp artist. I'm fat. I'm funny. I'm flawed. I try to be kind. I'm often grouchy. I am awed by the stars in the dark desert night. I hope my writing moves people. If my writing makes someone laugh or cry or feel angry or happy or troubled or comforted, I have done my job. If my writing makes someone think and question and try a little harder, I've done my job. If my writing opens a door for someone, changes a life, I have done my job well. I hope you enjoy my blog posts, my word and pictures, the work I've done to express myself in a way others will understand. I hope you appreciate the time and energy I put into each post. I hope you will click the like button each time you like what you have read. I hope you will share posts with the people in your life. I hope you'll leave a comment and share your authentic self with me and this blog's other readers. Thank you for reading.  A writer without readers is very sad indeed.

2 Responses »

  1. Then I’ll say it. They guy was an irresponsible idiot! And how traumatic would it be for someone killing that poor little creature…

    • yes, it would had been terrible for everyone present if that doggie had gotten hit by a car. I’m so glad everything turned out ok.

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