How much is that doggie outside the 7-Eleven?

Waiting for mom to return
Toronto, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I'm not one to judge, but dog-owning Carmi saw this late-night scene in the fluorescent-pooled-light beside a run-down 7-Eleven store in Toronto and cringed a little. Okay, a lot.

I don't have enough trust in my fellow humans that my pup would still be there upon my return. I didn't trust strangers when I was a kid and rode my bike to the store, and I don't trust them now. If my dog is with me, she'll come inside, just as I brought my bike with me way back when. Someone from the store doesn't want my dog or bike - or oversized sombrero - inside? Tough. I'll go elsewhere.

Maybe I'm cynical, but people can suck. Not all people, and not all the time. But enough of them, enough of the time that it's always a possibility that whatever it is you've left outside on its own won't be there when you finish buying that extra-large blueberry squishy you probably shouldn't have had in the first place.

This story thankfully has a happy ending. I stared at this sweet dog from afar until momma came back outside, untied him (her? I can never tell) and walked off into the night.

But that was this time. And as much as I'd never have the guts to walk up to a complete stranger and suggest they might want to rethink their canine security strategy, I fear next time - or some other time - she won't be so lucky. When I got home, I hugged our puppy a little longer than usual.

At least I got a picture out of this experience.

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