Walking Orfeo (Orfie) around the neighborhood reminds me of how strange people can be. Were they always this strange? Are they getting stranger? Am I getting stranger? Could I be any more strange? Maybe I am only a stranger to myself. Maybe not. But that’s not the point I was trying to make.

I just forgot the point I was trying to make.

When I walk Orfie ….

Some dog walking humans I encounter every day avoid eye contact or acknowledgement of my presence, even when I say hi. That makes me feel strange

Some dog walking humans give me dirty looks because when their dogs see Orfie, their dogs get very excited and it looks like the humans are having difficulty controlling them. So I guess it is my fault for inciting their dogs, even when we are across the street. And I guess it is my fault that their dogs were not trained or socialized. Very strange.

We encountered one such human today. We were on the same sidewalk, about 50 feet apart. And I was just going to continue walking past her, but she stopped in her tracks with her collie, blocking the sidewalk. She looked incredulous. It was like a standoff. She just stood there glaring at us, her little collie or whatever it was barking hysterically. It was like a standoff. I yelled out, “My dog is very friendly.” She continued to stand there glaring, blocking the sidewalk with her hysterical collie (or whatever it was). When I realized she was not going to move, I yelled out again, “My dog is friendly … and you are not!” And then we walked in the other direction.

You can see from the photo how mean and aggressive Orfie appears.

And then once in a while, a dog walking human will say hi or stop to ask if our dogs can say hi to each other. Which is nice.

Ant then there is sometimes a mixture. The friendliest dog walking neighbor has a dog named Archie. For some reason, Archie hates Orfie and the neighbor and I can’t have a conversation because Archie is pulling hard on the leash and would probably attack Orfie were he not on a leash.

When I got Orfie, one year ago, I thought having a dog would be a great way to meet my neighbors and instill a sense of community that is lacking. I guess I was too idealistic or delusional … So strange that we have made more enemies than friends.