Simple Pleasures

Today was a good day for Shasta and I. We decided to take a walk to my daughters house to see the grandkids. It felt great not having to muzzle Shasta and made such a difference in the both of us.
But, one thing I noticed is that now people are seeing her halti (gentle leader) and thinking it is a muzzle. I had so many people tell me it was unfair to have to muzzle her.
I think, other than enjoying my two grandsons, the next best part was when I stopped at a variety store. Two young kids were there and it impressed me that they asked me first if it was alright to pat Shasta. I told them that that was very wise of them to do so, as one dog could be completly harmless and another may not be used to kids. Naturally they enjoyed the praise and Shasta enjoyed the attention.
We had a little educational talk going that two men standing near by were listening to. They also came into the conversation when I told the kids that there were good owners that cared about their dogs and other owners not so caring that sometimes they used cruelty and that teaches a dog to bite. Not only pit bulls, but any kind.
They (the men) told me they watched a man with his golden retriever. The dog did it's business on the grass and then the owner gave it a big kick. The man naturally yelled at the owner that there was no need to kick his dog. The owner told him it was none of his business. The onlookers wife begged him to be quiet, but he said he continued and asked the man how he would feel if he was being kicked for doing something that was very natural? The owner relied, 'What business is it of yours?'
Even as his wife protested to not keep this conversation with the owner, he continued as he was angry to see this dog being abused. I stated that as a concerned citizen, he could and would call the Humane Society on the man, just as he would call the Children's Aid or the police if he saw a child being abused.
The owner of the dog finally backed down, but as I mentioned to him, he may still be abusing the dog inside of his home privately. Who's to know? Because this incident only happened very recently, the man was still thinking of phoning on the man and I encouraged him and said, 'Good for you! The dogs can't defend themselves that as concerned citizens, we need to step in to help them.'
Not all stopped to pat Shasta on our walk, but I did get plenty of smiles from people as we made eye contact. I like making eye contact with people, even if it's a simple walk by and of course a smile never hurts.
I think Shasta and I have a very simular personality. Both outraverted and friendly. It took us a long time for our walk, but handing out information and discussing with people of the importance of responsible ownership vrs. the irresponsible owners of any breed is a topic that comes up quite frequently when we walk.
Praising and teaching the children is an added bonus I always enjoy. Sure they like to boast and some of their stories are tall tales, to be sure LOL, but I enjoy listening and speaking to them regardless.
The little girl told me she had seen Shasta on tv. I doubt that she would have been awake at 11 PM to watch the news, but I asked her where she had seen her? She said she watcher her on a movie. Perhaps she saw a simular dog, but Shasta has not starred in any movies as yet. *giggle* We thought we would start slow, like doing the talk show curcuit first. ;)
Oh but to listen to the innocence of children along with their imaginations. It's so uplifting.
What would normally be a 15 min. to 20 min. at most, takes sometime 1 & 1/2 hours because of speaking to people. Both Shasta and I enjoy every sweet moment of it.
What can I say...simple pleasures are sometimes the best kind of pleasures. Enjoy the moment.