People and Their Dogs

Recently I was taking some photos behind my school. It's nice with a dense forest and a brook running through it. I was doing my thing when suddenly I hear crazy barking just behind me. Turning around I see two (I forget what breed) dogs running up to me and a woman a little ways down the path.

While I adore dogs, small ones always seem to put me on edge. I stopped what I was doing as they were advancing on me somewhat and I had the fast running brook behind me. They of course weren't on a leash.

The woman down the path, calmly walking passed, is calling to her two dogs.
"Sorry! Your tripod must have scared them!" she says to me, I quickly smile (nervously) and wave my hand.

"A-ahh! It's ok! I just didn't hear them coming and they surprised me. No worries!" Of course a normal person would at least come down from the path to leash their dogs and continue, perhaps with another brief apology. But of course, she must continue.

"They were abused before I got them. They thought your tripod was probably a stick to beat them with." Yes that's fine just get your dogs away from my personal space, please, it's making me uncomfortable. Yet this woman felt the need to say this another couple of times, you know, to really let it sink in so I get it.

Lady, Ma'am, Miss...

I understand that your dogs may have had a traumatic experience. You're a wonderful person to have taken them in and given them (presumably) a better home. However, don't you think that if your dogs are so dodgy around strangers that you should have them on a leash? This isn't a dog park.

Rather than blaming me with my tripod, or blaming the dogs' past owners, don't you think you should look at yourself and consider that perhaps you're the one who should adapt? Your dogs are skittish. Skittish dogs will attack if they feel threatened. This is a busy path.

Luckily the dogs found a ball in the sand beside me and decided that was more interesting than my tripod. The woman never did come down from the path...