What I learned from Downton Abbey …

Himself & I came late to the Downton Abbey party. Before we became a couple, I’d watched a couple of episodes and decided it had potential, but life took a turn… and I forgot. But after a run of particularly violent and gory films (I may have mentioned I’d not seen Tarantino’s famed offerings), Himself decided I deserved a respite – so we watched the film.

Then, of course, we had to binge watch all six seasons. And all the special documentaries about the making of Downton Abbey. Indeed, it may have contributed quite significantly to our sang froid during the first UK lockdown.

In amongst the gorgeous house, the amazing (upstairs) outfits, Thomas’s twists & turns, Himself decided his favourite bits were the cars and Isis (the Labrador). So we both chuckled mightily during the episode in which Cora had her head turned by another man, but what Robert saw fit to complain about was… how it was rude for a chap to flirt with another man’s dog 😀

This lesson came to mind on a recent evening stroll around our little local park, when a small poodle raced over. We both bent down and paid it a polite amount of attention before walking on without a backward glance. Much to our surprise, it danced around us in a most determined “play with me” manner. Turning to look at the owner, I smiled and shrugged – trying to make it clear that we had not been flirting with their dog. But the dog persisted, despite the owner trying to entice it back with balls and other playthings. It was not until she bribed him with biscuits that he returned to her.

Said poodle has behaved in the same manner every single time I’ve seen it since in the park – and not only with me. I’m not sure what the etiquette is for when an owner has clearly bonded so little with their pet that it throws itself at everyone else it meets.

Do you flirt with other people’s dogs? 😉 If you’re a dog owner, how do you feel about other people’s behaviour with your dogs?

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© Debra Carey, 2021