Nov 14 2010
The Kindness of Strangers
It was a beautiful day to take the dogs to Big River. It was also one of those days you get in Northern California where it’s in the thirties when you wake up and you’re wearing sweaters with the heater on in the morning, and by noon it’s in the sixties or even seventies, and you’re walking around in a t-shirt and wishing you’d worn your shorts.
The early rains we got this season meant that the little streams and brooks beside the path were laughing merrily over the water-smoothed stones. The dogs were happy to have a drink, though of course they also enjoyed the muddy puddles. Maybe puddles have extra flavor.
Even though I know they’re pests and all that, I thought the plumy pampas were a great contrast with this witchy tree and the spiky hill in the background:
I loved the look of the red fallen needles on the path:
The girls had a great time sniffing and bouncing along the path. Since it was such a nice day so late in the year, we ran into a lot of people. We were proud of how well the dogs behaved, even though one woman picked up her child when she saw that we had pit bulls. I’m sorry to say that this is not an uncommon experience, this dog racism. It did make me extra glad that the girls were so well-behaved.
One couple who immediately recognized the dogs as pit bulls had the opposite reaction. The husband had worked for many years training guide dogs, and he had Star literally eating out of his hand within minutes of meeting her. He asked if he could take her for a short run and bring her right back. We agreed, though later Megan and I both confessed to each other that we had about a half second hesitation in handing her over to a total stranger. The wife stayed with us and we chatted amicably.
Soon Star and her new friend came running around the corner of the path. I don’t know who was happier.
(You’ll have to click on the “StarMovie” link twice to see the movie. And wait for it after the QuickTime logo appears. It was so hard to get this in here at all that you’ll just have to go with it. Sorry about my technical shortcomings.)
Notice how she sat and was petted at the turnaround point. And the joyful leaps on the way back. It’s amazing how far she’s come since the first arrived in our lives.