Maja & Me - Home alone II

One of the nicest and most joyful things about walking with Maja is to see people's reactions. There are lots of dogs in Vilnius, but not so many are walked in the city streets, and there aren't many white golden retrievers.

Usually people start smiling when they see her, many say a little "what a sweet little doggie" when they pass her, and some give her the hand to sniff. Quite some have stopped me to ask what kind of dog she is, how old she is. Especially children like to have a small chat with her, and Maja herself is completely mesmerized by children. She can watch children playing for a loooong time.  I hope that my girlfriend won'r read this, but I am sure she could be used as a really good dating trick ;)

But on of the nicest meetings was yesterday. Our neighborhood has some - how to say it - more tired characters. Both among dogs and among people, that is. And it is these persons that usually try to avoid Maja. I can easily imagine that they have had their unhappy episodes with dogs..

We met one of them yesterday, on our way home from the shop. He was sitting at a street corner on a chair that he had dragged there. Maja was a bit hesitating - it was dark and she is not used to someone sitting there. "Nothing to be afraid of," he said. "I don't bite". We walked up to him, and then he became a little hesitant. "But maybe she will bite me?" I assured him that Maja does not bite anyone! And to prove my point, she went to him for a scratch. "THAT kind of dogs I like," he said. Then he talked a little bit about the cat that he once had but that someone had killed. Then he scratched Maja a bit more, we said politely good night and we walked home..

Life can sometimes be amazingly unfair to humans, dogs and cats. It is important sometimes to know that a dirty dog can still be a really nice one, and I went home really glad that Maja had maybe brought some few moments of contact and joy to someone.