When I adopted a 3 legged dog, I never anticipated the reactions we'd get walking down the street.
Number one most-asked question is "What happened to her leg"? asked in a number of ways;
~Shock-*gasp*..."awwwwwww, poor thing! what happened?"
~Sympathy/sadness-heavy sigh, usually accompanied by a sad face and 'I'm sorry'
~Surprise, admiration-From the exclamation of how she doesn't let anything stop her, to the guy waiting for the bus calling her a little soldier, to the thumbs up from the 2 old men smoking at the corner of MacArthur and Fruitvale, the majority of people who encounter abby are admiring of how tough she is.
~One of my favorites are the elderly immigrants who stop and stare and look incredulous. They must think we Americans are weird.
~There's the tone that can't be conveyed through print, the question asked in a accusatory tone, as if I'd been stupid enough to let my dog lose a leg.
~There are the people who can't get past the missing leg and 'oh poor doggie' to see what a happy dog she is. She's clueless about missing a leg. You only have to see her chase a ball or a pigeon once to see that SHE doesn't even miss it. Besides, dogs don't think about that stuff, they don't pine for what's lost, they accept what's now. Maybe that's why I love dogs so much. They are always completely in the moment. There's no thinking ahead or back, there's just now.
