Siena and I had a date at the dog park yesterday. In the morning when she was all hyped up and I had to leave the apartment (and I felt so bad) I promised her that since it was such a nice day, we'd not only take a walk, but we'd go to The Dog Park. I know she doesn't understand everything I say, but I always feel better telling her exactly what my plans are.
So around 2:00 pm we loaded up into the car and got underway. I had towels for wiping, a ball to throw and a bone for the car in case we hit traffic. And in typical Moscow-fashion, there was traffic. Who knows why. It wasn't horrible, but what could have taken 15 minutes took about 35. And Siena was already anxious to do something other than SIT, STAY, SIT, OFF, OFF, OFF in the car.
Anyway, we arrived and when we got to the park I saw there was another dog there. Yipee!!!!! A playmate!!
Sure he's big and black, but I know lots of wonderful large black dogs. Seems harmless enough, right? Wrong!!!
We get to the gate of the park and of course immediately the big dog comes bounding over to say hello. His tail was wagging and I was still (foolishly) pleased that there would be another dog for Siena to mingle with. No big deal.
I slowly start to open the gate -- I made a lot of noise and did it really really slow on purpose because I wanted this dog's owner to see that I was coming in and to get up (he was sitting in the sun) and take control of his dog so we could enter without the big guy escaping.
Well, little did I know, but I guess letting myself in (all be it slowly) was just not appropriate. The dog's owner jumps up, runs over, and starts yelling at me in Russian. I have no idea what he said, but his tone was clear: DO NOT COME IN!!! Huh? Why not? What's the big deal?!
Despite not really understanding the problem, I quickly apologized (in Russian) and said, "I don't speak Russian. Do you speak English?" (Also in Russian). The man ignored me and just kept gesticulating and yelling and of course his dog started getting worked up upon hearing his dad making such a fuss. I then said again (in Russian), "Sorry, I don't understand."
Finally, the man gestures with his hand and makes a big chomping sign and points to my Siena. OH DEAR GOD, the big black dog is going to EAT MY SIENA!!!! Or bite her, or do something bad! Yikes!
So I quickly back off from the gate and pull Siena (who is now straining with every fiber of her little brown body to get into the dog park and play with the other dog) back away as well. The man continues to yell and gesture and says in English(!), I think, "You ask ME first." Or something to that effect. Really? Yes, that's what he said. I noticed at this point that near where the man had been sitting was a giant rope-like leash (I mean literally a piece of thick heavy rope) with a HUGE scary-looking muzzle. Oops.
So we left. But before I walked to far away, I asked in Russian, "When?" What I really meant was, "when will you be leaving?" even though I don't know all those words...I mean, it looked like they'd been there a while and if he was about to leave, I could wait. His dog wasn't really racing around much so perhaps he was leaving momentarily. But he didn't answer, just continued grumbling and grouching.
Once we got down the block a little ways, I saw a young woman with a big fluffy white dog. The very same fluffy white dog and owner with whom we'd played the week before at this very dog park. So I quickly caught up with her, said hello, and asked if she'd tried to go in too (in English - many of the women here seem to speak at least a little broken English whereas the men just don't care and don't even try). She said yes and that the man said he would be staying there a while more. She was walking away from the park and appeared to have changed her plans with her dog. Just like that.
So neither of our dogs got to go to the dog park. A PUBLIC dog park, mind you. The man inside was acting like it was his private park! So rude. And there was literally nothing I could do but walk away and apologize to Siena.
The whole experience was so very Russian. "This is the way things are here and you can't do anything about it. I'm also not going to be nice while I tell you that you're S-O-L."
And then we sat in traffic for an hour and 10 minutes to get home. What a great day! UGH!!!
So around 2:00 pm we loaded up into the car and got underway. I had towels for wiping, a ball to throw and a bone for the car in case we hit traffic. And in typical Moscow-fashion, there was traffic. Who knows why. It wasn't horrible, but what could have taken 15 minutes took about 35. And Siena was already anxious to do something other than SIT, STAY, SIT, OFF, OFF, OFF in the car.
Anyway, we arrived and when we got to the park I saw there was another dog there. Yipee!!!!! A playmate!!
 |
| Here is a photo of the dog that was already there, taking advantage of the blue skies and sunshine to let loose. |
Sure he's big and black, but I know lots of wonderful large black dogs. Seems harmless enough, right? Wrong!!!
We get to the gate of the park and of course immediately the big dog comes bounding over to say hello. His tail was wagging and I was still (foolishly) pleased that there would be another dog for Siena to mingle with. No big deal.
I slowly start to open the gate -- I made a lot of noise and did it really really slow on purpose because I wanted this dog's owner to see that I was coming in and to get up (he was sitting in the sun) and take control of his dog so we could enter without the big guy escaping.
Well, little did I know, but I guess letting myself in (all be it slowly) was just not appropriate. The dog's owner jumps up, runs over, and starts yelling at me in Russian. I have no idea what he said, but his tone was clear: DO NOT COME IN!!! Huh? Why not? What's the big deal?!
Despite not really understanding the problem, I quickly apologized (in Russian) and said, "I don't speak Russian. Do you speak English?" (Also in Russian). The man ignored me and just kept gesticulating and yelling and of course his dog started getting worked up upon hearing his dad making such a fuss. I then said again (in Russian), "Sorry, I don't understand."
Finally, the man gestures with his hand and makes a big chomping sign and points to my Siena. OH DEAR GOD, the big black dog is going to EAT MY SIENA!!!! Or bite her, or do something bad! Yikes!
So I quickly back off from the gate and pull Siena (who is now straining with every fiber of her little brown body to get into the dog park and play with the other dog) back away as well. The man continues to yell and gesture and says in English(!), I think, "You ask ME first." Or something to that effect. Really? Yes, that's what he said. I noticed at this point that near where the man had been sitting was a giant rope-like leash (I mean literally a piece of thick heavy rope) with a HUGE scary-looking muzzle. Oops.
So we left. But before I walked to far away, I asked in Russian, "When?" What I really meant was, "when will you be leaving?" even though I don't know all those words...I mean, it looked like they'd been there a while and if he was about to leave, I could wait. His dog wasn't really racing around much so perhaps he was leaving momentarily. But he didn't answer, just continued grumbling and grouching.
Once we got down the block a little ways, I saw a young woman with a big fluffy white dog. The very same fluffy white dog and owner with whom we'd played the week before at this very dog park. So I quickly caught up with her, said hello, and asked if she'd tried to go in too (in English - many of the women here seem to speak at least a little broken English whereas the men just don't care and don't even try). She said yes and that the man said he would be staying there a while more. She was walking away from the park and appeared to have changed her plans with her dog. Just like that.
So neither of our dogs got to go to the dog park. A PUBLIC dog park, mind you. The man inside was acting like it was his private park! So rude. And there was literally nothing I could do but walk away and apologize to Siena.
The whole experience was so very Russian. "This is the way things are here and you can't do anything about it. I'm also not going to be nice while I tell you that you're S-O-L."
And then we sat in traffic for an hour and 10 minutes to get home. What a great day! UGH!!!
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