curb your dog

so there's a middle-aged lady in my building who was recently featured in a headline-grabbing expose published in a local newspaper. apparently she was caught parking her silver mercedes in a handicapped space even though she is neither disabled nor in possession of a handicapped parking permit. when approached by a journalist on behalf of the reporting tabloid, she became extremely flustered. then she spit out some lame excuse about nursing a bad leg.

well, a few days ago i saw the same middle-aged woman taking her bichon frise for a walk in my neighbourhood. the pair were strolling up and down the sidewalk just outside our condo anxiously awaiting nature's call. eventually the miniature mutt came to a halt along a tiny strip of turf before assuming the familiar pose of canines everywhere about to perform their personal business. numero dos, to be precise. within seconds the deed was done. and moments later master and furry servant were once again on the move.

now as fate would have it, i just happened to be passing by the precise position where the pint-sized pooch and his portly protector had only seconds earlier played out their private potty session. but as i approached the actual spot on which spot had just cleared out his system, i couldn't help but spot a little memento of the occasion. evidence, as it were. and to be sure, it wasn't pretty.

but it wasn't long before my feelings of revulsion had transformed into feelings of contempt. contempt for the middle-aged lady who had just demonstrated a complete lack of consideration for her neighbours. and for a brief moment, i even considered chasing after the woman so that i could express my dismay over her thoughtless behaviour. but then i recalled the recent news article in which her utter disregard for the rules of civility was prominently on display. and so i decided to call off the chase, for i knew at that point that it would be of no consequence anyway.

for just as the pretentious pup had left his mark on the sod outside my humble abode that day, so too did his human counterpart demonstrate a similar disdain for her fellow man through her own conduct of late.

well it is dark out there