So there we were at the park. We just finished our first real hike in weeks, and were enjoying a celebratory cup of peanut butter. That is until we were interrupted as usual. A couple approached and asked to pet us. But something unusual happened instead.

Dad responded with, “No, they’re having a snack.” The man, who appeared to be about the same age as Dad, looked rather surprised by the odd response. The woman began to lean in for the pet, then caught herself after realizing what Dad had said. She looked at Mom with the most quizzical expression, and Mom just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. They politely said, “ok,” and walked away talking in a low whisper while glancing back at us.

After that awkward moment, Mom said, “Did you just say ‘they’re having a snack?'” “Yes,” Dad responded. And they both burst out laughing. They’ve never used that excuse before, and I guess they thought it sounded silly. On the contrary! Asa and I didn’t think it was silly at all. In fact, we were quite pleased that Dad advocated for us, and let us enjoy our treat uninterrupted. After all we were tired from hiking, and just wanted to enjoy our peanut butter.

As all Golden Retrievers know, with great cuteness comes great responsibility. And letting people pet and admire us is one of those responsibilities. But it also gets daunting, especially if you just want to relax and enjoy family time. You’d never see a Golden Retriever interrupt someone while they were eating. Ok, well maybe we do. But it is to remind you to share your food. We don’t want to pet you. Perhaps that’s a bad example. Regardless, we’d never interrupt a family enjoying time together. Oh wait, been there, and done that too.

This is getting awkward. So I guess it is best to end this here with a hearty “thank you” to Dad for speaking up for us! As for that couple, our sincere apologies, but thank you for asking!