Parked 2 Close

FTLComm - Prince Albert - Saturday, August 25, 2001

It was six-thirty Friday afternoon as I stood outside Tim Horton's in Prince Albert enjoying the wonderful warm late afternoon which was being disturbed by a bitter dispute between two dogs. Now this is a busy city intersection and I could not quite figure out the source of the noise and it was a minute or two before I figured out that the muted sounds of dog barking wasn't from a nearby yard but was only car lengths away. The owners of two canine occupied vehicles had parked side by side and this was a

serious matter of territorial rights. The defender of the pickup was one of those yappie little affairs that could easily work full time in an emergency ward to revive dead or dying victims of heart failure. The gray Tempo was defended by what looks like an English terrier of some kind, the sort of dog that would rip off your leg just to see how loud you would yell. The owners had considerately lowered the windows to provide some fresh air to their companions on a hot day while they pick up their donuts. With the windows partly down the sound of the bark and counter barks were muted but the intensity of the argument was not diminished in the least. Without the ability to engage fangs in the conflict it was bark versus bark and these two were an even match. In the end each sentry was a victor, the impinging potential invader was held at bay, no ground was lost no dishonour occurred, a noisy confrontation a border clash was avoided even if diplomatic courtesies were strained. Each dog went his way confident and proud of having successfully defended his territory yet again, "peace in our time."