Halloweirdos

I went with Maddox to my local independent pet store to buy a few things, as well as use it as a training opportunity to work on some of the skills we've been working on at home. Usually there is nobody in there, save maybe one or two people and about half the time someone has a dog. I typically make a point to stay away from the dogs, or if I do interact, from a safe distance. So my question, was it a full moon or is it just Halloween day that brings out all the idiots in full bloom?

As I walk in the door, a lady with a fully extended chihuahua and flexi leash asks me if Maddox is aggressive. I say no. I continue walking forward, and she does as well. The chihuahua rushes Maddox and his body language immediately changes. He tenses, and I pull Mad away, but not fast enough. The chi snaps. What does the lady do? She giggles. She GIGGLES, and says, "Oh, I was hoping that wouldn't happen THIS time." Then walks off on her merry way. I was so furious I didn't even have the words to say anything.

I'm standing at the door not but a few minutes later, still praising and treating Maddox for being such a good boy, talking to someone at the counter about how in the wrong the lady was to just rush me like that, and an elderly lady about twenty feet away at the collar and leash display takes OFF her (also elderly, and rather obese) black lab's collar, and turns back around to the collar display to make a selection of which one she wants to try on first, expecting that the dog won't wander off! The dog makes a slow, arthritic beeline for Maddox, and I just walked out the automatic doors, as did the dog following us. I just walked a large circle in front of the store and came back in the store. The lab did not. The woman went bonkers on me about "How dare I lead her collarless dog into the middle of the parking lot" and "I should have caught him, because any GOOD dog owner would have." As if it was in some way or form MY fault that she took her collar off her dog and left it unattended in a store with automatic doors.

And then finally, because I hung around a bit so Maddox could get love from the employees and one or two customers I know, this apparently invited a lady to tie her dog to a forty pound bag of expensive, high end dog food and head halfway across the store to come see Maddox. She immediately asked what happened to his leg, I said he was probably hit by a car. She proceeds with, "Can I pet him?" and I reluctantly say yes. She starts loving on him and telling him "Oh it's ok. I'll love on you because your mommy let you get hit by a car... Oh you don't look loved enough." I assured her that I would never put him in harms way intentionally (even though I adopted him as an amputee) and he was very, VERY loved.... oh and that her dog had just eaten a really large hole in the bag he was tied to. And of course, no encounter would be complete without the "dagger eyes of doom" that warn you of death if you ever put them in that situation again.

So we went home, which is blissfully quiet, since our neighborhood has all of like three neighbors, none are below the age of fifty. Hence, no trick-or-treaters tonight, though Maddox did fantastic with a young kid that was in the store dressed up as a dragon. He showed slight interest and curiosity but kept walking when I asked him to move on.

So yes, our Halloween party is cancelled due to lack of money, so tonight should be a very quiet night. 

Happy Halloween everyone!

A proper intro is probably in order...

I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Ariel, I'm currently nineteen years old, and I am kind of a quirky person. Sometimes quirky is good, sometimes not. My family calls me quirky, because it's easier than calling me a person with the world ahead of them, who had to throw most of it away because of disabling mental illness. So yes, I'm quirky. And I'm bipolar, ADHD, have sensory integration issues, and also a severe anxiety disorder. All of that prevents me from driving, having many friends, going to college, or simply being the person I strive to be.

So yes, while this blog is about me, my life, my disability and such, this blog is mostly about him.

That's Maddox. He's my service dog in training or SDIT for short.  I'm training him to be my Psychiatric Service dog. He's new to me, but after searching for more than a year, I've found a dog with his temperament. I look forward to getting to know him better, and spending long, lovely years with him as my companion.