Bo Wheaten.
Merely uttering those two words together would cause Hoss to growl eventually rolling into a deep, resonate bark.
Hoss had friends and Hoss had enemies.
Some he hated merely because they existed. We never knew why, but wheaten terriers?
They were always a problem. Likely because of Bo. Bo Wheaten had his balls. Hoss did not. I’ve not met a gelded animal that enjoys time with a stud. Call it jealousy, call it evolution.
It doesn’t matter, if I had my balls cut off, I’d hate every man who still had functioning nuts.
But wheatens? Hoss hated them all. He wouldn’t lunge. But if you knew Hoss, you could tell if he didn’t like someone.
He didn’t merely dislike other dogs. He had favorite people. The one legged man in the magic chair? Hoss loved him. The African man who smelled like sausage? Hoss loved him. The Eastern European man with the moustache and trans am and walking stick?
Hoss did not like him at all.
People would get offended. If he liked you, he’d sit on your foot, lean into your legs and generally just be a giant, fluffy pain in the ass. If he didn’t like you, he’d pin his ears and glare.
I don’t think your dog likes me very much.
I’d hear this when walking him from time to time. When you walk with a 150 pound dog, you attract a lot of attention and projection.
Nope, he doesn’t to like you at all.
Dumbstruck for a moment, they paused.
He doesn’t? All dogs like me. Your dog is rude.
It’s befuddling to me that people assume that they are entitled to 1 randomly speak you because you are with a four legger and 2 be liked, accepted and included where ever they go.
I certainly am neither liked, nor accepted, nor included by other people - even before opening my mouth. It’s odd that we expect the total adoration of dogs.
He doesn’t like you because he doesn’t like you. I tend to think he’s a good judge of character.
The person sunk into themselves.
You don’t like me?
As they hollowed themselves, I could see an edge of hostility emerge from both them and myself. My reply?
Woof.
Their face got contorted. Then it began to change. It’s the kind of change that happens when someone slowly turns from sad to really angry. Their pain was palpable.
Then your dogs is an asshole! You’re an asshole!
Yes, yes we are. The Eastern European man called us racists. Yes, a man with a European background decided that the dog I was walking was ‘racist’. The dog wasn’t racist. This man was really quite stupid. I chuckled quietly at how quickly he made this leap. He must have experienced exclusion. He was experiencing distress.
This was not my problem. I made no attempt to object to his criticism.
You seem to have made up your mind. Move along then.
He froze. Expecting objections and soothing, he didn’t know what to do.
You don’t like me?
I laughed.
Not when you call my dog racist. Have a nice day.
We don’t all need to get along.
We don’t all need to like each other.
Hostility is part of life. Like any emotion, it’s not rational. It’s not rational to fall in love with someone. It’s not rational to instantly hate someone. Both cases are very human.
Humans are not rational.
Sometimes we just don't like people. Sure, we may come up with all sorts of fancy reasons - stories about who they are, what they’ve done or how intact their testicles are.
What is it like when someone just doesn’t like you for no reason at all? How do you deal?
Who do you just not like at all?
No reason necessary, you just meet them and know that you just don’t like them - straight from the get-go.
Do you trust your gut and allow yourself to dislike them?
What would happen if you merely allowed yourself to dislike someone?
What would happen if you stopped trying to get along?