Poopy.

I hate to be yelled at. In fact, I don't know who likes to be yelled at...even if they are the one at fault.

Today I got yelled at by a random neighbor and it made me mad, not going to lie. However, I knew I deserved it and it was also a 'lesson' learned. I was walking my dog at an atypical time than the usual walking schedule since  I wanted to 1. get out of the house and 2. enjoy some of the warm sunshine Edmonton has been getting before it was gone. 

Long story short, I didn't think my dog would actually need to do his #2 so I didn't take a plastic bag with me. Walking around the lake path I always take adjacent to my back yard, Comet (my dog) actually did #2 (seriously? wth...why do dogs poo so much). I was standing and staring clueless momentarily as I was about to walk away and made a mental note to pick it up another time (since I frequently take this route), when a low, angry voice yelled out from higher ground,

"PICK IT UP!"

I looked up and to my right where the voice came from and didn't catch the sight of any face through the windows, decks, or yards, but it repeated,

"PICK IT UP!"

 I had no bag, so I inched closer, and I was thinking, great the day I don't bring a bag, the day I get watched by some random neighbor. I responded with the following...

"I forgot to bring a bag,but.. (forget it, why bother explaining, this man wasn't going to listen to what ever I had to say, would he even believe me if I said I was going to come back with a bag? probably not).. Sorry."

He goes on to keep yelling from his hidden place about watching me before and not picking up after my dog and how he doesn't leave stuff in my backyard (sounding so sure that he knew where I lived) and stated if I knew how much I could get fine.

I apologized again and yes, I admit there have been times when I didn't pick up after my dog, but I haven't done that anytime recent and I know better, so I don't doubt he could've mixed me up with someone else since there are so many dog owners in my area (that are Asian in fact), and one too many dog owners who don't pick up after their pets. Okay, there are probably no excuses to justify that, but this time was different, and as much as I wanted to yell back, I sucked up my anger and ended up picking up my dog's poop with dried leaves just to please this man. If that man was nicer, I wouldn't be ranting about this, but it just reminded me about the following:

WHAT YOU SAY IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS HOW YOU SAY IT.


Lesson learned alright.