As I pulled into the driveway of a friend’s house, the neighbor (also a friend) was walking a tan french bulldog in her front yard. She dog-sits in her home, and this was her latest guess, a little girl named Poppy, just a year old.
Of course I walked over to say hi, but Poppy was having none of that. She got into a defensive stance and let out her fiercest growl, letting me know that I was not welcome. I can’t help but laugh when I am held at bay by fifteen pounds of pup. As I chatted with my friend, I sat on the ground about five yards away. Once I did that, Poppy’s curiosity got the best of her, and she took a cautious step in my direction. Numerous sniffs and steps later, she was smelling the back of my hand, her stumpy tail beginning to vibrate back and forth. Once I ran my hand down her back, she crawled up into my lap and my friend said, “Now you’re speaking her love language.” I only had a few minutes to pet her back and scratch her tummy, and we parted as each other’s new best friend.
The night before, at the meal before bible study, I met a first time attender, Troy, who shared a very different dog story with me. After a moment of small talk he told me about the dog who bit his seven-year-old daughter. The daughter was across the street at a neighbor’s house for a birthday party. Something triggered their friendly and familiar German Shepherd to attack, and the little girl had to be airlifted to a trauma center. Thankfully, doctors were able to save her life and repair the damage. In fact, his daughter was there that night for the children’s program and she looked just fine.
I asked, “Did they put the dog down?”
He replied, “No. The case was dismissed. She still lives across the street.”
Yes, that would make me very uncomfortable. Plus, I’ll bet there’s a lot more to this story.
Anyway, when it comes to dogs or people, it’s not always the gruffest and grouchiest ones you need to watch out for. The friendliest ones might be the ones who really want a piece of you.
Waite for it... 