The Big Ragu

Sorry for not writing sooner but it’s tough to do what I want to do living with a needy 10 month old puppy.  I love that he’s a mama’s boy and attached to me, but sometimes it doesn’t give me much time to do what I need to do.  Which brings me to today’s thoughts:  If push came to shove, would Carmine be the ultimate mama’s boy and protect me??  

I ask this because a neighbor called me to let me know she was accosted last night in the neighborhood while walking her own young “mama’s boy.”  And although she wasn’t physically harmed, she was terribly disappointed that her male Pomerian mix didn’t come to her rescue, nip the guy who grabbed her, or even bark at him!! She had to pick up her dog, punch the guy in the stomach, and run away.

She told me that she almost wished she had a big dog.  And that brought back an incident that happened when Carmine was four or five months old and still doing his “sit-downs”:  refusing to walk at all on the leash unless I walked backwards and led him with a treat.

And one bright and sunny Saturday afternoon, a very drunk and loud man came up to us during one of the sit-downs and started petting Carmine in a very heavy-handed manner while I desperately tried to get the boy to walk away with me.  And then the man grabbed my arm while shouting “I love you” at me!  I pulled my arm away angrily while Carmine just sat and looked the other way.  I dragged Carmine away while the guy shouted “I love you” for half a block!  And I thought what’s the point of having a dog—big or small—if he doesn’t know to protect me!  I asked my friends with adult dogs and they all responded the same:  If he senses you’re in danger, a dog will come to your rescue.  Maybe not as a young pup, but as he matures and knows you better.  They reassured me that he’ll sense that you’re in danger and will react.  

I knew my tone was annoyance not fear that day.  I know my friend’s was anger last night and not fear either.  It’s not that I want to be tested or anything, but I’m curious as to what would happen.

I guess I’m sharing this story to give you a bit of advice:  Don’t feel over-confident because you’re walking with a dog, especially at night.  

My friend with the Pomeranian mix told me she was on her cell.  Not a good idea I suppose.  That’s a distraction and maybe the guy knew that.  I guess we should consider carrying pepper spray or mace?  She told me she wants to carry a golf club with her from now on.  That might look funny and actual be quite a nuisance.

But whatever you do, be careful out there.