Just a Friendly Little Beating

Scene: Lake Mead. My two girls and I are enjoying a Saturday at the beach. A man, his daughter and a pitbull puppy settle in ten feet away from us.

I'm a friendly gal, so I yell over, "that's a good looking pit." He smiles and we launch into congenial small talk. My girls are enthralled with anything puppy related and beg me to let them pet his dog. I get his permission, warn them that puppies can be overly excitable, and let them go.

Inevitably, (I know, I'm a terrible person), the puppy playfully grabs my two year old Cher's hand in his mouth and she starts to cry. I pull Cher back to my lap to calm her. The man comes over, completely apologetic but I assure him that she'll be fine. But the next thing I know, he's dragging his four month old puppy by the ears to where we are sitting. "Bad Lady! See what you did to this little girl?" Then, still holding her ears twisted tightly in his fists, he starts beating his dog in the face. "Bad! Bad! Bad! Bad!" Each shout punctuated by a violent blow.

"No really, my daughter is fine!" I say. The beating continues at our feet. "She was just being a puppy! Please don't hit her. See? Her hand is fine." I hold out my daughters hand and show that no harm has been done.

"This is the only way she'll learn," says the man with an apologetic smile. Her ears get another twist. BAM. At this point, both my girls are totally freaked out and Cher's begins crying for the puppy instead of herself. For his finale, he grinds the dog's head into the sand. Finally convinced that he's shown me what a great guy he was, he releases Lady's ears and gives me a heroic grin like he's just slain a dragon. The dog lies terrified on the ground.

Funny, one minute you are chatting with a guy about the weather and the next minute, you feel like grabbing him by the ears and beating him senseless. Gotta love the beach.