We were out early on Memorial Day, maybe 7:30, and there was hardly anyone in the park but the dog walkers. It was a gorgeous day as the few people we passed acknowledged. We walked along the beach and saw only one sailboat which seemed odd until we realized there was no wind. As we walked up Zoo Road a black car came up behind us, traveling too fast for the park but also too close to us. We saw the owner get out of the car. He had a dog, on a leash, thank god, and he headed up the road ahead of us. I looked at the sticker on his car, a blue American flag with the words, “Support Your Sheriff” below it.
We walk faster than most people, for now, so of course we caught up to him. We were about ten feet behind him when he started yelling, barking really, at his dog. “No! ” he shouted as he yanked the leash around the dog’s neck. The dog looked like a Rottweiler and I was thinking about turning around. There was an article in our paper yesterday about a pit bull who killed his owner.
As we got closer to the guy the dog looked our way again. I didn’t want to look at the owner. He scolded his dog for turning our way and said, “I’ll teach you military style” as he yanked the dog’s leash. We got ahead of them and his phone rang. We heard him telling someone he was in the park and “had to hang up before the dog destroys someone.”
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