RANT UPTDATE*****

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

I live in a beautiful home, in a beautiful golf community, surrounded by beautiful people but (that is a different rant).  In the summer 99% of them live up north, Canada or someplace in between but this time of the year they all come back.  Let me begin by saying that I'm a mid-west gal, chubby and of a conservative viewpoint.  So basically I'm saying "that I do not fit in".  But I do my best to be friendly and try.  Last year Rooney and I went to small dog time every day at 3:30 and he got to run and play with all the other small dogs but by the end of summer he was pushing the size limit.  Now with Stuart at 53 lbs we go to big dog time but I am OVER IT.  These men bring their giant Weimaraners, mixed breed dogs (that have that boney head of a pit) and delight when their dogs play very aggressively.  Stuart and Rooney hold their own but neither one has an aggressive bone in their body.   And I can't tell you how proud I am of Stuart who will put himself between another dog and Rooney if he feels that it is getting too rough.  So tonight - as things are going as usual and I'm trying to maintain the peace without drawing notice - one of the men asks me what mix Stuart is and I say " he is a Poodle-Golden-retriever mix and he doesn't have an -------   I WAS going to say an aggressive gene when he jumped into my sentence and said "any brains"!  So basically he said Stuart didn't have any brains being 1/2 poodle/retriever!  I very calmly looked at him and said "poodles and retrievers are some of the smartest breeds".   All of this in front of a group of other men and one woman who looks like a man.   I let the boys play a bit longer and then left.  I hate to punish Rooney & Stuart but I will not take them back.  When dh comes back from China he is either buying me a lot to build on that has room for a fenced dog area or I'm going home to MI and not coming back.  I can't take these smug, skinny, liberal, rude, A$$holes any longer!!!!  Stuart is the sweetest puppy you would ever see and I'm not taking this cr@p any longer.  I would NEVER say anything so rude to another person EVER.  I don't care who you are, think you are or what you have, but I'm not taking it.  I grew up very poor but I was taught kindness, courtesy, and manners.  Dh is gone and I'm crying - why are people so mean?  I just hate these snobs!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Why is it getting so hard for people to even be CIVIL anymore-let alone KIND!!  You did a great job of standing up for your doodles!! WTG! I hope you can find a solution to all of this so you can find some happiness. Life's too short to have put up with that crap behavior!  :)

[Dena Atchison]

I was born & raised in Florida & go back once or twice a year & I hear ya on the liberal comment.  I bet it wouldn't be too hard to find another dog park; one that has less aggressive dog owners.  I'm sorry he was rude to you.  I wouldn't let he be the reason you don't go back though.  If you do go back & he (or anyone) says anything rude to you again I would put my foot down.  I don't know if you have the kind of personality or not but if you do then by them being rude to you it gives you the green light to give it right back at em'.  My husband is active duty & we live on a military base.  Hubby is a Captain.  My neighbors directly behind me are Generals  You can imagine that I encounter a bunch of snobby women who wear their husbands rank.  You just have to feel sorry for them.  If someone is rude to a complete stranger can you imagine how rude they must be to their significant other. 

I second the glass of wine suggestion.  Wine seems to make everything better.

Also, I don't remember if it was you or not but someone on here told me of their breeder which was in Florida.  I remember whoever told me has a beautiful parti so I think it may have been you.  Hubby & I are talking about getting another Doodle at some point & I contacted this breeder & that is the route we will probably go.  If it was you I just wanted to say thank you in case I never did.

 

[Dena Atchison]

Oh, & Cindy, central FL is where I'm from; Brevard to be exact.

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

My point exactly, lots of places in Florida to live with a variety of political view points. From VERY conservative and, in the early 80s when I was there, still not used to outsiders, to VERY liberal.I never lived in Brevard county. 

[Pat and Traveler]

Sorry this happened, Jane.  Sadly, there are probably just as many rude idiots in MI as there are in FL.  No excuse for that behavior anywhere.

[Amber (with Maggie)]

Primarily: Please do not let those people bully you from the park.

I am a liberal. I promise not all liberals are like that. I am sorry to hear about your experience at the park. I can say that this guy sounded more ignorant than liberal. He also sounds like he was not brought up with manners and was silly enough to have blatantly voiced an opinion about something he obviously knew nothing about.

 

I would have been insulted as well. Personally, I would have asked him what brought him to the conclusion that my dog didn't have brains and ask him about his dogs and why he chose them, but I am punchy like that.

 

My dog refuses to fight other dogs, and pretty much ignores the intense ones. If one of them comes after her, she and I walk to the other side of the park. If the dog continues to follow, I tell the other dog to leave it and walk back to the other side of the park. The owners usually get the message and contain their dog. If they do not, I tell them they need to have their dog on voice command or remove their dog from the park (in the dog parks I go to there are written rules about aggressive dogs). The primary thing is that I don't let people who have no control of their dogs force me out of a park when my dog is behaving.

 

Don't let those guys bully you out of the park.

[Becka]

This is very well said, Amber. The dog park shouldn't be the domain of people who can't control their dogs or their mouths, and civilized people need to hold their ground. I had a confrontation with a very ignorant couple at my dog park last week but all of my friends stood up for me; luckily, I think that we outnumber the bullies.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

After re-reading this in the a.m. I would like to apologize for MY unkind words and any offense that they have caused.  Although the rude person had no idea I was very angry and hurt when I left the dog park, I then came on here to vent and should not have used the infamatory words that I did.  My sole intention in telling the story with those details or side thoughts was because I know that it colors the way that I see everything here.  I was trying to show how no matter what I do here - I end up feeling wrong,left out, judged.  It is a hard way to live everyday.  Something does have to change for my living arrangement but with our place in MI never having been sold I can't just afford to buy a new house right this minute -- would be a nightmare to end up owning 3 houses!  Yikes.  But I think after the holidays this house will have a For Sale sign in the yard and if we can sell it then we'll have to decide what to do from there.  So having that plan in the back of my head gives me hope.  Thanks for all the offers of muscle, momma's wisdom, etc.  Once again my apologies.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Jane, I think we all have to let loose once in awhile. You certainly did not offend me in any way, although I do hate being called skinny....LOL!  I hope you can move soon and start enjoying Florida. Good luck!!!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

no worries Jane. It's easy to get riled up when it comes to our doods. Sometimes when things set me off I end up going on a rant about 'those people' and then when I wake up the next day realize i was dong the exact same they were doing that made me angry, i.e. judging, categorizing, etc. It's a natural defensive response I think. The important thing is to recognize it and move on. There are rude people everywhere and in all shapes and sizes and beliefs, and there is no way to categorize them other than they are rude. I think we should round them all up and send them off to Mars.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

This sounds like a sensible plan to try to sell and then move on to what would make you and the boys happy when DH is working. You need your own doodle park doodles only so nobody can judge! I really hope you can work this out, I know you were upset and needed to rant but today you see that it can be fixed. Good luck and hope you find a smile today because they're right those people are everywhere and you did good!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree that you should try to sell - you need a yard if you are going to stay in FL.

As for the rudeness of others, I don't care whether you are democrat or republican, people really have no filter these days and can be so rude. I was recently at a party where a younger scientist (geneticist) looked at me and said "you know since you are now 30 without kids, you should really be genetically tested before since you are getting older and at risk". WHAT THE DOOD?  She didn't know me from adam!

 

As my father-in-law says (he is from Boston and is loving, but tells it like it is):  98% OF PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD ARE AHOLES"