Being Respectful Goes a Long Way

What do you mean naughty? I was just trying to say hi.

I just had an unpleasant experience which ended very well because both parties were respectful.

I went to a park near where my husband works so we could meet for lunch. Li Xi wasn’t there yet so it was just me and my dog Maya. My hands were quite full at this point. Maya was super-excited and, therefore, harder to control. And I was carrying two bags for our lunch. I stopped for a moment when I saw something on Maya’s head. It was a tick. I put the food down and was trying to get her to hold still so I could pull the tick off.

It just so happens that a woman was walking by at the same time. Well, Maya absolutely loves people. Add this to the fact that she was already excited about the walk and things got out of control quickly. Maya got away from me and went after the woman. She tried to jump on her. Just to say hi, but this woman didn’t know that. All she knew was a big yellow dog was trying to jump on her and the dog was making grunting noises, which could have been confused with growling.

Needless to say, the woman was scared and that fear quickly turned to anger. She didn’t curse or anything, but her words reflected how unhappy she was. I apologized profusely and quickly got Maya under control. I felt absolutely terrible.

After lunch, I walked with Maya back to the car. As I got Maya secured in her AllSafe dog car harness in the back seat, I saw the woman again heading to her own vehicle. After making sure Maya wasn’t going to get away and cause more trouble, I turned towards the woman with the intent of apologizing again.

Before I could say anything, she actually apologized to me! Maybe she felt bad for the tone she had used, although to be quite honest her tone wasn’t so bad considering the circumstances. Of course, I apologized in return and said I am the only one who should be sorry.

Can you imagine if everyone was this way? We all make mistakes. And sometimes our reactions to other people’s mistakes are not all that nice. But if everyone would just step back and take a look at the entire situation, we can all be a little more understanding. The woman knew I didn’t do anything on purpose. She understood that accidents happen. I knew that even though Maya was the one who misbehaved, I was the one who was completely at fault. I didn’t make excuses, nor did I get defensive when she got angry.

Lesson for dog owners: Be responsible with your pet. Understand not everyone likes dogs and some people are deathly afraid of them. Control your pet at all times.

Lesson for everyone: Take responsibility when you make a mistake and be understanding when others mess up.

Tags: anger, apologize, jump, lesson, maya, mistake, park, respectful