Stranger Danger?

This is Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle. We’ve all been told when we are young, not to talk to strangers.

Even though I’m a dog, and I really don’t like that label, that’s another blog for another day, I also watch out for strangers. I had enough of strangers watching me in the shelter jail. I have enough of them now trying to walk past my campsite. No. Even though I’m sleeping…I’m not.

And I can only arrest so many a day. Deputy Digby can only write so many reports.

But Deputy Digby says he has never met a stranger. He says that everyone is waiting to be a friend.

But apparently, not everyone feels the same as Digby. Not everyone here at the farm is so eager to talk about world events. And I’m about over it.

Yes. Every morning, every afternoon, every evening I come up to where the llamas are. And it’s like they have something against me. Apparently, when we first got here and I called them alpacas, they didn’t like that. They didn’t like that at all.

And I suppose I understand. I shouldn’t have made assumptions.

What happens when you make assumptions about strangers? You don’t give yourself the chance to learn. You don’t give someone else the chance to explain.

I might have not made a good first impression with the llamas. But I aim to make it up. And yet, here I sit at the fence. Day after day after day.

Girl Person has tried to explain to them that we mean no harm. And she has told them that I really want to just rub noses. And yet, here I still wait. Getting a blank stare for all my patient efforts.

The truth is, we can all work on how we treat others. We may get used to one town or one road or one city. We may think we don’t need to learn about others. But when we stop learning about others, hate and intolerance is allowed to creep in.

So if you’ve made an assumption about someone else, or you’ve made mistakes in how you’ve treated others, it’s time to sit at the fence. Wait. Eventually you may get the chance to explain. Or to listen.