Two Neighborhoods ~ Two Dogs
This morning a dog came bolting down the block. He was a huge black dog probably 60 or 70 pounds. He had gotten away from his owner and was trouncing down the block. I saw she was yelling and chasing him, My car was in the driveway, so I opened the car door and called her dog in a high pitched voice (C’mon boy). He jumped in and I closed the door. The woman screamed, “Noooooooo that’s my dog” and kept running toward me. I told her, “I got him for you. I wanted to help, but he’s too big for me to grab.” As I tried to explain, she called me an idiot and told me that “you should never put someone’s dog in your car.” I opened the door and he she attached his collar and leash. He jumped down from my car and they walked away. Why would her first thought be that I wanted to steal her dog? Why wasn’t her first thought that people wanted to help her? Has the heat gotten to people?
Seven years ago, I lived in Borough Park, a predominately Hasidic Jewish area. The children there loved my dogs from afar because their parents would not allow them to touch dogs. When I asked neighbors why they couldn’t touch the dog, they told me that the dog’s food was not prepared in a manner that was acceptable to their faith. I asked a Jewish friend and he told me that Hasidic Jews don’t like dogs because in the Kabbalah dogs are a symbol of demonic powers. Maybe my neighbor didn’t want to tell me such a harsh story so he chose to tell me about the food. One day my dog, Trallie bolted out the door and up the block. I didn’t have shoes on so she got a head start. When I got out the door, I called out, “Help, stop my dog.” I don’t know why I blurted that our when I knew they weren’t able to touch my dog. A group of Hasidic men were coming down the block and as Trallie ran toward them, several of the men reached down and placed a hand on her so she couldn’t move. Then one of them reached down and picked her up. When I got to them, I thanked them over and over. Their first response was to help me regardless of their religion. For the Hasidic people, their religion is their way of life so I knew touching my dog wasn’t something they wanted to do.
Bay Ridge, if you ever see one of my dogs running down the street alone, please do whatever you can to stop them. I’m not afraid that you are going to steal my dog. In fact, that’s the furthest thing from my mind in my neighborhood.
Hugs,
marlene
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