In Which The Dog Walker Strikes Again

Back in August I posted briefly about a man in our apartment complex I witnessed walking his dog by motorcycle. Now obviously that technique doesn't work in the winter months here, as it's rainy and the roads are very slick. What's a guy to do when a dog needs exercise? Besides, you know, walk.

We discovered the answer to this burning question yesterday when we loaded up the car in a light rain to go to the grocery store for a couple of forgotten items. We rounded a corner in the apartment complex to discover a white sedan crawling down the middle of the street flashing its emergency lights. The leash slung out the car window was attached to a collar on that same poor, poor Pomeranian, who was trotting along frantically next to the car. The little dog had pulled the leash taut in a desperate attempt to walk as far away from the wheels as possible, and its stubby legs were going a mile a minute in an effort to keep up.

There's no excuse for this. As far as I can tell this guy doesn't have any sort of disability whatsoever-- he doesn't have a handicapped license plate or a placard on his car and he sure as heck balances on a motorcycle pretty well, as was demonstrated this past summer. And I'm sorry, but I don't really care if he has some sort of medical issue that makes him unable to walk the dog; if he can afford to have a dog in the first place he can afford to hire a dog walker. It would probably be pretty cheap if he factors in what he'd be saving on gas.

And if he doesn't have a reason that he needs to not be walking, WOW. I really, really wish I'd thought to get this idiot's license plate number so I could report him for animal cruelty. I also wish I'd had my camera with me; I'll have to start carrying it in the car on the off-chance we see him again. How could he possibly think this was a good idea? How lazy does one have to be to walk one's dog like this?

My snippet of advice to that guy: if you really, really don't want to walk the dog, here's an idea-- don't have a dog. Have a goldfish. You'll never have to walk them, and you won't really have to interact with them other than to feed them and clean out the bowl once in a while. On second thought, I wouldn't want to inflict you on a goldfish. Have a pet rock. That sounds like an appropriate level of responsibility for you.

On a side note: what the heck does he do if the dog has to go to the bathroom? I'm not sure I want to know.

Yeesh.

~Jess