We knew the nasty, bitter old man (hereafter I will refer to as “Mr. Nasty”) across the street hated Festus, after only one encounter, but we didn’t know how much until yesterday.
A few months ago Festus got loose, ran across the street (it’s not really a street, it’s a lane in a retirement community trailer park) to greet Mr. Nasty, only he was so nervous, he came close to peeing on him. Fortunately, I was able to get his attention and call him back before he actually did.
A few weeks later, we were outside with Festus on his leash, and I asked him if he had met Festus, having forgotten about the earlier incident.
He responded with malice and hatred: “Yes, he lifted his leg on me,” and wanted nothing more to do with us.
I said, “Oh, I forgot,” and apologized.
If Festus had actually lifted his only back leg, he would have fallen to the ground.
Now if I had been quick and clever, I would have asked: “Which leg did he lift?”
I believe Mr. Nasty has been jealous of Festus ever since we got him. In fact, I suspect that he coveted our Festus so much that he, himself enrolled in a program that provides service dog to retired veterans.
However, I don’t believe it’s just Festus. I suspect he is jealous of us as well, because we are a loving couple, and on our walks, we sometimes hold hands, with little Festus, happy as can be at our side.
Festus loves nothing more than to go for walks, screaming with delight when we ask him to go. He loves to greet people. He loves people even more than other dogs, and he has fans all over the neighborhood.
I believe Mr. Nasty is bitter because he is a closet gay, who was too afraid to come out. Having had many gay friends over the years, I can say this without any malice towards gay people. He is quite effeminate, never married, has no friends, either male or female.
Yesterday, my next door neighbor, who manages the senior park where we live, and who loves dogs, and has a dog who is much like Festus, only blond, told me of her encounter with Mr. Nasty.
Mr. Nasty was in her home, and out of the blue he expressed to her how much he hated Festus, and that when Festus nearly peed on him that he came quite close to kicking him. And he went further to say that if Festus ever came near him again that he would most certainly kick him as hard as he could.
My neighbor was appalled and responded by saying: “You kick dogs?”
He responded with: “I would kick that dog.”
Ironically, the day of the original incident, Mr. Nasty was outside talking to a representative of the group that was about to bestow a service dog on him. Had he actually kicked Festus in front of her, she would have not allowed him to have his own service dog through the program.
He never takes his service dog, a beautiful white lab, for walks. His dog doesn’t even get to go outside to play in a yard. Once in a long while, he will take the dog in the car with him. Now, I am about to cry, just thinking about that poor dog. It makes one wonder if he only got the dog to show off when he’s out in public, as an accessory.
The only good thing that came of all this is that Mr. Nasty revealed himself to the park manager. If I or my spouse witness Mr. Nasty committing any cruelty to his own dog, we will contact the people who gave him the dog.
As for the future, we must always be vigilant, and never let Festus get near him. Mr. Nasty has moved a few houses further away, and we no longer have to hear him yell “Shut up!” at our other neighbors’ dogs whenever they bark (which is rare), a tiny Chihuahua, and a Dachshund.
Mr. Nasty is old and rather frail, never gets exercise, and God willing, he won’t be on this earth much longer, freeing up his own dog to move on to a happier life with someone else.