the Polite Owner

Princess, the Bichon, is not my neighbor's dog, but she's close enough.

         Met Don, a friendly neighbor, and his two pure white Bichon Frises, one named Sampson.  We went on a long walk, the three dogs and the two owners because Don had a key which would open the gates of a nearby members-only country club and this would give Gizmo a chance to mark an entirely new area.

        Earlier, Don spoke about carefully wiping off his dogs’ feet with dish soap to get off the tar from the street.

        Gizmo runs and leaps and wants to play with Sampson, who also wants to play, at the end of our long walk.  But Don the owner demurs, politely pointing out that, “Rolling a white dog on a tar-covered street is something I’d rather not see done.”  Ooops, and he is so polite about it.

     “The ideal age for a boy to own a dog is between forty-five and fifty.” 
- Robert Benchley