Nash usually acts like a perfect gentleman which makes him a pleasure to walk. He is dog, he is peculiar and is allowed to be Nash. So yes he may announce himself in his loud boisterous way, he may bunny hop around me to entice me to play and on occasion he will lunge at something he is afraid of. Luckily all he really wants to do is sniff and mark every tree, bush, rock and blade of grass.
He has a certain Je ne sais quoi that attracts adults, children and other dogs. He does not like strangers approaching him and he certainly does not like strangers reaching out to him. Our walks are often interrupted by people with their questions and comments which I am usually happy to answer.
“Oh what kind of dog is that? He is beautiful”
“He is an Anatolian/Akbash mix” which usually ends up with a blank stare so I go on, “Have you heard of a Great Pyrenees?’
“Yes”
“Same family only an older breed. They protect livestock for farmers”
“Is he friendly? Can I pet him?”
“Yes he is friendly but he doesn’t like people reaching for him so it is best if you don’t pet him”.
The comments get old fast which is the curse of having a big dog.
‘Wow thats a big dog’. No kidding
“You should put a saddle on him and take him for a ride.”
“You should hook him up to a cart and let him pull you around”
“I bet he eats you out of house and home”. He actually doesn’t.
“Wow all that hair, he must be miserable in the summer.” No, he has a double coat so he is insulated against cold and heat.
He also attracts other dogs. I try hard to suppress my grin when we walk past other campers/Rv’s and hear the dogs inside sound off followed by the sound of owners, “Rover thats enough!” while Nash just ignores it all. Which makes him look like a really good dog.
The other day we were walking along the river when I heard a scream followed by a crash. As I turned I saw a beer can arching through the air, its contents rushing out like a fountain. A woman leaping from her lawn chair simultaneously trying to grab a dog leash and help her husband extricate himself from under another lawn chair in which he had become tangled. He too is desperately trying to hold onto a second dog leash. From somewhere behind me I hear the rain of hysterical laughter. This all happened in seconds yet in slow motion movie like quality. Still not sure what happened, (but the picture is becoming clear) I call out to the guy as he is getting up from his knees and holding the collar of his Bulldog, “are you okay?” He looked at me for a long moment as he gathered his wits, “Except for my dignity I am good” he looks over at his wife who is looking at her husband with a smirk on her face while she is holding a second bulldog. This is when I put the pieces together. Like the people from the RV across the way who witnessed the entire incident I started to laugh.
This fellow and his wife were sitting comfortably in their lawn chairs beers in hand watching the fly fishermen cast their lines. He had tethered both his bulldogs to his lawn chair. When the bulldogs saw Nash they came a running pulling this guys chair from beneath him allowing the hilarity to commence.
At first I felt bad for the guy and a little guilty, If it wasn’t for Nash none of this would have happened. We did have every right to be there, and Nash did nothing to provoke the dogs except pass by. Besides Bulldogs are really strong dogs with a low center of gravity. Why would he tie two dogs to his flimsy lawn chair when he could have tied them to the solid picnic table three feet away?
The foolish move of his had consequences and he had it coming. Maybe, just maybe he learned something from the ordeal. I still continue to laugh as I imagine his wife telling the story over and over again.
PanningForGold 