The height of confusion

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I would really, really like to have a dog. Unfortunately, what with one thing and another, it's just not feasible. For now, me and Julie will have to be content with making a fuss (or 'fondling', as Julie has referred to it) of other people's pooches. Living near the sea in a seaside town means having a promenade usually, and the one in Eastbourne is quite a good one.

It certainly is if you are a dog walker, anyhow. At any given time during the day, you will be sure of meeting at least one dog out for a walk. Some days, you can barely move for them. It's just as well that there are dog waste bins placed here and there. I just wished everyone would use them, not just some people.

This is the current campaign to get people to pick up the poo
http://tinyurl.com/dpfairy

Regardless of the muck, however, it's nice to see all the different dogs. Apart from the odd specimen, though, we tend to avoid the really small ones. Partly because they're usually the most belligerent, and partly because it's hard to take anything seriously when it looks like what is produced when a rodent has shagged a rainbow-coloured mop.

It's especially odd when the smaller dogs are being walked by larger people...

Like a boss.

As I said, we don't dislike all small dogs, just as we're not too fond of every single larger dog. My mother has a Jack Russell terrier, a breed notorious for being somewhat bolshy, but all Toby wants to do is sleep - preferably next to you on the chair.

On one occasion, while we were walking along the prom (tiddly-om-pom-pom...), one very friendly small dog of indeterminate origin was zig-zagging the path ahead of its owner, trying to say 'hello' to every single person it met. Of course, when it reached us, it found some people who were willing to pay it some attention.

Which is when it went berserk - with joy, of course.

Poor thing - we couldn't help but laugh at it. It was so happy right then that its tail was wagging at physics-bending speeds. Unfortunately, since it was also trying to jump up to us, that wagging just sent it flying off in random directions, like a badly-flown helicopter.

Julie was sympathetic towards the dog (while laughing her head off, naturally), pointing out that its size really didn't help matters.

Er... what?