I started shopping today with my service dog, in the hopes of getting a few things everyone needs. There was a lot going on, making the store messy, customers anxious and everyone’s patience low. The woman ahead of me had so many rolls of toilet paper in her cart that you could easily say it cost $200. I stayed quiet, but I certainly noticed what happened. It was almost impossible not to.
She stood up and looked at me and my dog standing together and said in an attitude, “What does your dog belong to?” I quickly calmly answered, “He’s my service dog.”
She smirked and said “I knew it all along.” What are you looking for in a business service?” You could tell by the way she said it that she was about to accuse me.
Keeping the tone easy, I told them, “He’s a BLD.” At that time, my dog was wagging his tail and giving her some licks, showing that he was being his usual sweet goofball.
She looked puzzled. What does the term BLD stand for?
I couldn’t help laughing, but said, “It means Butt Licking Dog.”
She blinked. “Butt Licking Dog?”
“Yes, that’s true, as I haven’t any toilet paper, thanks to hoarders.”
Stillness came over the meeting. A look of shock made the woman expressionless. The cashier suddenly started laughing and kept going until tears were in her eyes. I mean she was leaning over and laughing so hard that her eyes got red. A couple of people in the line also started to laugh.
Not much was said by the lady after that. She turned her back to the cashier, didn’t talk and finished her purchase in quietness.
We only had ourselves and our dog when we came out and he had no clue how much trouble he caused. All I meant was to make people laugh—but I think I ended up making the point too.
Occasionally the only way to deal with funny situations is with a sense of humor. When people go into survival mode and buy hundreds of dollars’ worth of toilet paper.