I've Always Hated Extendable Dog Leads

I know hate is a strong emotion and ordinarily I wouldn't use it to describe such a mundane object, but unfortunately this week I had an encounter with an extendable dog lead that I wont forget for a long time.

Reasons I hate extendable dog leads:
1) They allow a dog to build up momentum and pull you over.
2) They break, at weddings, when you're asked to look after someone else's dog!
3) They give dogs a false sense of freedom.
4) They often teach dogs bad habits.
and now 5) The Unforgettable Experience

The Unforgettable Experience

On Friday (13th of course), I was minding my own business doing some vehicle checks on my new work van. It isn't new new, just new to me. I've called her Gypsophilia and I'm trying to look after her as well as I know how. The checks were going well and I was just looking at tyre treads when I noticed a man across the car park struggling with his dog and a wild goose. The dog, whilst on his extendable lead, had run around the goose and managed to get tangled up in its wings.

Now as Wildlife Trust employee, wearing a 'I Love Nature' coat and sitting in a Trust van I felt unable to ignore this predicament. And as I grumbled under my breath 'bloody extendable dog leads' I made my way over to the man and offered some help. The man handed me the dog lead as the clever little pooch managed to wiggle out of it's harness, so desperate was he to get away from the great slapping wings and prodding beak of the bird. So the gent picked up his dog and took him to the car, leaving me stranded in the car park with what appeared to any new onlooker to be a Canadian Goose on a lead! I whispered 'please come back, please come back' as I tried to untangle the bird, getting wing-slapped for my kindness and thank fully the man reappeared, dogless and determined to untangle the mess. He too was slapped away and retreated back to the car for a blanket that was duly ripped from his hands by the stronger than you would think bird. Sensing that all was lost as the giant goose dragged us ever closer to the lake I began to suggest that we contact the RSPB, then all of a sudden there was Cliff. Cliff the saviour, like a Matador he waved the blanket in front of the goose and within seconds 'dink!' the lead hit the ground and the bird waddled away.

In the end it was a bit of an anti-climatic ending to an event that probably lasted only a few minutes. I resisted the urge to suggest to the man that he buy a different type of dog lead and instead asked him to check my break and reverse lights, after which we thanked each other and went our separate ways. I think I'll avoid spending too much time in the work car park from now on.