Random Ramblings of a Lunatic
I
I had to find a photo for this where I look properly demented. That did not take long.
Randomness:
I almost got hit twice within two minutes by two silver Mercedes sedans on the LA freeways. They both just changed lanes into me and I had to do some fancy brake and steering work to avoid getting hit. Dear Mercedes Drivers: I exist! I occupy space! Please take that into account as you move about the city.
***
The guy who wandered on foot out into a major intersection tonight was not that lucky. I came upon him when he was lying in the road. In my lane. Yeah, that will wake you right up. One minute you’re checking to see if the light is changing and then…Hey! There’s someone lying in the road in front of my car!
He had just gotten hit and was face down in the road. He was a big giant guy with long braided hair. The person who hit him had fled the scene, leaving just some car parts (side-view mirror and another piece of plastic) in their wake.
I stopped my car and put my flashers on and got out of my car. Two people were already on the phone and a bunch of us ran over as he began to move. Everyone was yelling “Don’t move, don’t move,” but he was either under the influence or was irrational because of his injuries, because he would not listen and kept rolling over and trying to sit up.
It was total chaos. Traffic was backing up, it was getting dark and people were screaming “Oh my God, Oh my God!” . A blonde lady on her phone kept yelling, for some unknown reason, that her husband was a police officer.
Fortunately, the closest fire station was only about 200 yards away, so the EMTs were there in just minutes. I waited til they got the man surrounded with their bodies and then traffic cones. The firemen began directing traffic. I couldn’t do anything else – and all I had done was to keep anyone else from running the guy over by blocking him off with my car. I skedaddled, shaking a bit. I’m not so good in emergencies. They seemed so calm – another day at the office for them.
****
I have to get some training for this dog to stop her from jumping on children. How do I do that? Are there volunteer children who will make those squealing noises that get her so riled up?
She knocked two toddlers down at the dog park today. I don’t understand why people don’t protect their kids. One guy said, about his daughter, “It was her fault. She didn’t try hard enough to defend herself.” Abbie probably weighed as much as the girl did. Abbie knocked her over and then gave her face a thorough licking before I got her off. She’s just being friendly, but terrifyingly friendly. Gah. I was so mad and disheartened by the whole thing.
****
I am on day four of a sinus headache and sore throat. Fall allergies. It has been windy like crazy lately. Claritin D just barely cuts it. I have moved on to Afrin. The big guns. Pray I don’t become an addict.
****
That’s all. Goodnight.
Comments are closed.
Suebob's Red Stapler 
I don’t think you look demented, I think you are pretty ! and I’m glad to see you’re back for good.
Thank you, Viviane. I’m glad to be back, too.
So scary to suddenly come upon someone down in the road!
Don’t be mad and we can help with disheartened. You want to find yourself a force-free trainer, preferably one trained by Pat Miller or maybe Karen Pryor or someone like that. Then you’ll learn techniques to use and be able to enlist the help of the squealing children before jumping occurs and get it to a place where she isn’t making you sad about it. Redirecting jumping can be challenging because she’s had so much reinforcement for it (she jumped, the kid came down to her level, they had a nice snuggly lickfest, and then more park time!) but it’s totally doable, especially for someone like the Abs who is interested in being part of the group. I’ll see if I can find the name of someone in your area…wait, I don’t know what you consider your area. I’ll widen my search and you can see if there’s anything that works.
OK, here’s a link to one of the referral pages on Pat Miller’s site. I feel confident that the trainer wouldn’t be on Pat’s site if they used any kind of force. There are several folks on this list who are in CA. Hope someone is near you. If you don’t find a good fit let me know and I’ll keep searching. http://www.peaceablepaws.com/referrals.php?type=otherReferral
Thanks Kizz! I found a local trainer who is Karen Pryor-trained, and signed up for a manners class beginning on Weds. Yay. Thank you for your advice! Abbie is such a GOOD girl. She deserves to be well-trained. Me, too.
I’m so excited for you guys! I wish CA was next door to NY so I could come spy on your class. I can’t wait to hear how it goes for you. I think you’ll both have fun. You’re both VERY good girls.
Canine “good citizen” training will go a long way to helping with this. No need to be rough — just firm. And be vigilant in rewarding the good. Part of this is puppy-ness, which can be frustrating. The good news is this is your perfect time to establish and reward positive behaviours. You can do this!! HUG!
Thank you. We are signed up! I was just so reluctant to do so, given our first experience with Horst “Yank on their neck till they obey” the trainer.
Hooper did not like little kids. I never trained him to be better, I just kept him away from little kids. I’d also warn people. He was fine as long as you didn’t reach to pet him. I’m sure Abby knocks down those kids because she LOVES them.
Also? Guy lying in the road would have totally freaked me out.
Yes, Abbie LOVES them. And she wants to climb all over everyone she loves. And nibble their ears in a very cute way – unless you’re a toddler and she is standing on your chest to do so.
“It was her fault. She didn’t try hard enough to defend herself.” I’m trying to think of a situation in which that isn’t an appalling and horrible thing to say.
I know. I know. I’m standing there pinning Abbie down (she was happily wiggling all over the place, thinking this was part of the game) and there’s the dad, and his sobbing girl, and a smaller child (running loose in the dog park) and a larger one, plus the mom, standing behind, not saying anything. He kept ordering “Don’t be scared!” and I was saying “It’s okay to be scared, it was terrifying,” and he’s trying to tell me how it’s ok, reassuring ME but not her. It was bizarre and horrible and I’m always afraid I don’t handle these things appropriately – like how far do I go before I turn from Reassuring Dog Owner Lady into Screaming Nutso Meemie? I don’t know if yelling at him would do any good or just scare his kids worse or….I don’t know. All I know was that I was already sick and was so not emotionally equipped to deal with it that day. I felt like a 1000 pound weight had landed on me.
Hey there. I’ve seen your name in comments on BlogAntagonist for years (and I’m so happy to say I’ve been FB friends w/her for years too 🙂 ) and FINALLY FINALLY!! came to check out your blog. LOVE IT (sorry, yes, I’m yelling!)
Had to comment on the dog park experience. As a dog owner and mother of former toddlers, are you freaking kidding me, father-of-kid??? (yelling again, sorry!) DON’T BRING YOUR KID TO THE DOG PARK!! (I’d bold DOG if I could, haha!) There’s a reason it’s called a dog park and not a kid park. At our park, we sort of discourage people who bring their kids and allow them to run around more or less unattended – folks who hold their kids or spend time telling them “this place is for the dogs, not you” (but still probably shouldn’t have brought them) at least have some brains in their heads…
OK, rant over, and, great post. And no, you don’t look demented enough in that pic. IMO.
Well hello there! Thank you for stopping by. A child-free dog park sounds heavenly to me.
Wow…this was a rattling read first thing in the morning! And I agree with the above person in comments..you don’t look demented.
Thank you. I am pretty sure I AM, though 😉