Brisk-walking home with JD after one of our twice-weekly “me-and-dog-time” outings, an oldish, large local man wearing the concierge uniform of our development calls the dog to him. When JD and I are out we often get stopped by strangers looking for a dog fix, so I don’t stop her from going over, whereupon he tells her “Sit!”
When she does, he unwraps something to feed her.
Me: Hey, hey please don’t feed her.
Him: No, no it’s ok, this is a honey-flavored treat I give my own dogs.
I’m still not very happy about it, but unless I really snap STOP. I Do NOT Want You To Feed My Dog and look like a total jerk to this guy who obviously (I think at the time) doesn’t understand the “dog-owning etiquette” of not feeding someone’s dog when they don’t like it, I’m going to have to tolerate my dog wolfing some honey treat thing from Guy I’ve Never Seen Before Who’s However Wearing Our Development Concierge Uniform Complete With Nametag (which makes me think Ok, At Least He’s Probably Not Trying To Poison My Dog.)
After a minute of JD now following him expectantly, he starts to unwrap another treat.
Me: Hey, please, stop, that’s enough. She’s quite an old dog with a sensitive stomach.
Him: No, no, no lah it’s really ok lah.
Me: <watching JD gamboling around him like she is not an old dog> Well, we have to be getting back so I can meet my son coming back from school anyway.
Him: You’re not going to be able to call her away anyway, I may as well give it to her. She’s going to stick with me unless you forcibly drag her away.
I bellow at JD to Come. Here.
As I’m leashing a still-too-delighted border collie, he comes up to me, still fumbling with the treat and about to give it to her.
Him: That’ll be HKD 2 apiece. These treats are HKD 2 each, you see.
Me: But I don’t even want you to feed my dog – hang on – are you telling me I now have to pay you HKD 2 for the treat you insisted on feeding my dog just now?
<brief pause>
Me: <thinking: Then again HKD 2 isn’t too bad for a picture and a blog post> Well lemme take a picture of that treat <indicating> the one he’s still got in his hand. <thinking: Cost a lot more to get a pic of the one in my dog’s stomach 😀 >
Him: <hurriedly puts it away> No lah, you don’t have to pay me lah I just treat her lah.
Me: Uh….. Wait, let me see that <still holding camera phone cos now I want a picture>
The second treat is gone. Idly I realize he also flinched when I glanced at his name tag. <thinking: ok, so at least we know the uniform is real which means he probably really isn’t trying to poison my dog>
Him: Ok lah ok lah sorry lady I won’t feed your dog again lah. <LEAVES>
Me (To JD): You see, you see, accept gifts from strangers some more..
Ok, these aren’t the treats but I saw this one day and thought they were hilarious.. “Sniffany” and “Chewy Vuitton”…
He must have thought you are going to take a photo to report him to the management for trying to trick you into buying the dog treats from him.
I am amused that the product and marketing people can come up with “Sniffany” and “Chewy Vuitton”. What else will they come up with next?
Well it’s technically unprofessional of him to do that, but I don’t expect too much from them… Actually that’s not the first time someone around our area unwrapped some bak kua-looking thing and said it was a honey treat they fed their dogs with… A lot of ppl try to have little sales like that, our ex-driver looked for us for money very often and one of the ventures was a milk powder supply business (one of the reasons he’s our ex driver and I’m still wondering what to do when the Miss reaches Kindy-age)
Why don’t they sell Sniffany and Chewy Vuitton instead hor?