The tale of two dog owners

Gabby is our friendly family dog who loves to play and be chased. #boxer #dogowners #dogs #theheatherchronicles

A couple of months ago, Matt, Anna, and I took the dog to Point Pleasant Park while Rosie was at a birthday party. We were making our way to the big open grassy area by the water so Gabby could run around with other dogs. We were on an off-leash section of a narrower path when Gabby bolted ahead to a dog coming towards us.

Gabby is high energy but she is also very submissive. She loves being chased. She will literally tag other dogs with her paw - “You’re it!” and make a run for it. The dog coming towards us, also off leash, was a bit smaller than Gabby, who herself is a small 60 pound boxer. So let’s say, bigger than a beagle. Her owners, a couple I assume, seemed to be early 30s. Gabby ran to the dog full speed, pouncing to play, and they went over the edge of a rock wall, about a foot off the ground, no higher. If you’ve ever seen dogs play and wrestle in a park, this was fine.

The male owner went ballistic. He lost his mind. At noon on a Sunny Sunday. “Man! Get your dog! Get your dog! I swear to god, if it hurts my dog I’ll f@ck you up! I’ll F@ck you up!” I’m not joking. He was angry. And ok, maybe not all dog owners want their dogs approached with such energy, I’ll give him that. But maybe if that’s the case don’t hang out on off-leash trails? Just a thought.

Maybe he’s not educated on the breed of Boxers. American Kennel Club says “Boxers are upbeat and playful. Their patience and protective nature have earned them a reputation as a great dog with children.” But sometimes people are presumptuous and misinformed, and think a boxer is a pit bull, I assume (not here to discuss what that says about pit bulls). We’ve seen people get nervy when they see us coming. But maybe if this guy observed the situation for FIVE seconds, he would have understood all was fine. Just a thought.

If you don’t want other dogs around your dog, don’t take your dog to the park. But I think we all understand this had nothing to with the dogs. Dude clearly had some other issues.

The guy keeps going off, shouting. “Seriously man! Control your dog. I’ll f@ck your dog up if it hurts mine, I swear to god.” Matt was trying to subdue him, telling him to calm down. At this point I snapped at him. “Hey! Excuse me. Watch your language. We have a child here. And that’s our family dog. She’s extremely friendly.”

Of course Gabby, being the family-friendly, sweet pup that she is, came as soon as I called her. I grabbed Anna’s hand, pulled her ahead fast and said, “Come, Gabby.” We walked away as fast as we could.

Matt and angry man continued in their separate directions, but not without this loser continuing to yell at us. It’s like he thought it was 3a.m. on Pizza Corner after a night at the bars. We couldn’t help but feel a little threatened. It shook us up. It definitely ruined our time at the park. Even Anna was fuming. “He said the F word 21 times!”

Our boxer dog gabby being a good girl and soaking in the sun at point pleasant park #boxers #boxerdogs #gooddoog

Fast forward a month. Matt and the girls took Gabby to the park in the morning as usual, for her to run around with her doggo pals. I happened to have my live on-air, from the house via Zoom interview on CTV Morning Atlantic at 7:45a.m. about INSPIRE ME Magazine. I was glammed up, it went well, I felt great. Nailed it. I basked in the glory for 45 seconds before Rosie came tearing into the house telling me to come see Gabby right now.

They had her in the car, because there was blood everywhere. She’d been playing with another dog she’s been playing with at the dog park since she was a puppy. He has a nice and friendly, responsible owner. Gabby kept stealing the other dogs ball, in an effort to be chased. The other one finally had enough. They got into it , and Gabby had her ear ripped open.

Did Matt f&uck the other dog up? Did he f@ck the owner up? No! Of course not. He assessed the situation. It was an unfortunate situation with no aggression involved. The other owner was mortified and got her dog out of there asap. I’ll spare you the details, but we found a vet clinic that could take Gabby (our usual clinic was full by 8am! Did you know there’s actually a shortage of vet techs and appointments right now? Pandemic effects).

They let us bring her out right away because the situation was messy (the damage wasn’t actually that bad but the ear has a lot of vessels and is an area that bleeds a lot). They were able to hold her there until the vet could see her later that morning. She had to be put under, stitched up, and prescribed painkillers and antibiotics. A hefty vet bill later, she was back home with us that evening.

During the day, the other dog’s owner found Matt on Twitter. She felt terrible. She apologized. She offered to pay the vet bill. Very kind and very responsible of her. On the flip side, we didn’t blame anyone. As dog owners, we accept the responsibility for what can happen, especially off-leash in a field with other dogs (and should probably start an emergency vet bill fund).

They are animals after all. Of course there are situations that can go much, much differently, involving irresponsible dog owners and untrained or aggressive dogs. This was not the situation. It was two dogs getting into it over a ball. It’s like the time another random toddler bit my toddler on the cheek at the library. I was mad and upset but there wasn’t really anything I could do about it. Except avoid that toddler at reading circle forever more.

We’ve made a big effort to exercise Gabby even more to work out some of the exuberance. She needs to chill. Other boxer owners facetiously tell us they might start to settle down between ages five and eight. She’s three.

Despite the look on her face, ggabby loves warm hugs. #boxerdog #boxers #dogdays

Sadly Gabby’s friend hasn’t been back to the dog park . Not at the same time as us anyway. I think he’s grounded.

The moral of this tale of two dog owners is if you are ever in this situation, embody the second story. Understand if you take your dog to the park, unleashed at that, he’s going to encounter other dogs. Don’t get me wrong, it’s ok to react for a second before you fully understand what’s happening in a situation but take a breath and read the room. I hope the angry man is okay. Maybe found his way to some anger management classes. Maybe like Gabby he needs more exercise to be able to take it down a level and chill out! The difference is, he was aggressive and the animal was not.

Did I mention this happened the same week a bird was flying around inside our house? I’ll save that one for another day - there’s always a story!

Rosie’s reading buddy for online learning this year. #readingtodogs #boxersdogs #gooddog

Heather Fegan is a freelance journalist, content creator, and blogger in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She loves exploring the great outdoors with her family and chronicling their adventures at home, afar, and everywhere in between. Because there’s always s story. Heather is also the founder and editor of INSPIRE ME Magazine.