Camden — Noontime on a recent weekday, found me sitting down at a favorite lunch spot, with a window seat, a book, and an hour to myself, to inhale some late fall sun and marvel at the downtown festivities.

I was not planning on writing, however taking my seat, I witnessed a brief event across the street, which at first seemed rather ordinary, and in retrospect was just that.  However, as the scene unfolded before my eyes, I believe I was the only one to witness it, and as the fleeting moment passed, it grew on me, and I was compelled to capture it, to record the moment.

A dog was walking along with its owner, not really paying attention to where he was going, just happy-go-lucky, as dogs are. As the dog merrily trotted along, he ran straight into a sign on the sidewalk; didn’t see it coming at all. The owner seemed unaware at that instant because she had just slowed down to squeeze around some people. Immediately after the dog hit the sign, he looked up at his owner, face no longer merry, rather with a scared look, similar to what you see on the face of a child who has just fallen or been startled by a loud noise. The dog was looking at his owner to see if everything was all right, not really knowing what happened. He was looking to his guardian for a reaction to make sure things were ok, just as kids do with their parents when they are scared. He wasn’t really hurt, just startled, and his first reaction was to look up to his source of comfort and protection, for a read on the situation. Since his owner was fine, the dog quickly recovered his step and seconds later the owner did in fact stop to comfort him; I guess she did realize what happened, she just didn’t see what I saw.

Maybe they are more like us than we know.

JPH