Todays' Mostly True Short Story: Nyack People - The Big Yellow Dog

Words and photo by F LoBuono

It must be a common site around Nyack by now; me and Rexie taking one of our frequent sojourns into town. We're pretty hard to miss. Not too many people stroll down Broadway with a 117 lb. yellow lab in tow. Rex is a BIG guy. Pushing 13 years-old, (that's like 145 in human years), he is in great shape, especially for his size. So, we walk at a pretty good pace.

During the stretches of our walk where there is little traffic, human or vehicular, I let him walk off the leash. He really is a gentle giant and would never hurt another living thing - human or canine. So, he's no threat. In fact, he's GREAT with kids. He's so big that they can really latch on to him. And, he is incredibly patient. Allowing him off the leash gives him the freedom to sniff AND pee away. And, pee he does - on just about everything. Anything taller than an ant hill is fair game and a sure target. Of course, I DO control him - no peeing in gardens or on lawn furniture LOL! But, it's good for him to do what he does best. After all, he IS a retriever. It's in his genes.

Because he spends so much time sniffing and peeing, he often falls a little behind. It's never too far and he is never out of my sight or voice. So, I often continue on my pace and allow him to take his. At some point, he notices the gap and hustles to make up the difference. I never have to turn around because I can hear him, chugging away, like some kind of runaway freight train. He IS a BIG guy.

Well, one day, while he was in the process of catching up to me, I noticed a woman coming in the opposite direction. I always check people out to see if they might be intimidated by the dog. If so, I put him on the leash immediately. This woman appeared as no threat. As a matter of fact, she smiled, as most do when they see him.  As she approached, she came closer so that she could say something:

Sir, there's a large, yellow dog following you.

Without turning around as she passed and maintaining our pace, I replied:

Seems to be happening a lot lately.

Without another word exchanged, she went on her way and, we, ours.

I love this town.