I’ll often bump into fellow dog walkers whilst out exercising the mutt.

In fact, there is quite a friendly bunch over the field where I usually go on my way to the woods, and we’ll often stop and chat whilst the dogs chase each other round the field.

I don’t know any of them by name, but I know all their dog’s names… which is enough.

And they all know Saber and fuss over her like she’s one of their own.

But, of course, there’s always one.

Saturday morning, I was running Saber over the field. I always do it in three short stints: one at the top of the field; one in the middle and one at the bottom, just before we exit.

It was early and there was no-one around, as I cast the laser pen in a figure of eight for her to chase at the top of the field.

A bloke entered at the top, on the metalled footpath that runs the full length of the field and I noticed he had a brown  border collie on a lead, but other than that, I paid him no attention.

Saber and I walked further down the field and I got her chasing the laser again, in a large figure of eight. I noticed that the bloke and his dog had stopped a little way off and was watching us. Again, I thought nothing of it, as people often stop and watch – I’ve even had someone film it on their phone, before now.

We then walked down to the last bit at the bottom of the field.   I stopped and got Saber to sit whilst I took a few steps back in order to get a good swinging arc of the laser pen.

“ARE YOU A FUCKING IDIOT OR SOMETHING!”

I looked up. There was no-one around except this bloke and his collie dog, standing on the footpath about twenty meters away.

“EXCUSE ME?  YOU GOT A PROBLEM?” I said back to him, in a raised voice.

“I AM TRYING TO GET PAST, BUT YOU KEEP STOPPING TO RUN YOUR BLOODY DOG”

I was a bit confused at that, as we were on the grass, about three meters away from the footpath: there was plenty of room for him to pass by.

“SO, WHY DON’T YOU WALK PAST? THERE’S PLENTY OF ROOM”, I shouted back at him, pointing to the footpath as I did so.

He pointed to the scruffy collie stood beside him. “THIS ONE DOESN’T GET ON WELL WITH OTHER DOGS SO WE NEED MORE ROOM TO PASS”

“AND HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT?” I said.

“THAT’S WHY HE’S ON A LEAD!!”

“AGAIN, WHY WOULD I KNOW THAT?”

He didn’t reply but just stood there staring at me.

I took a couple of steps back and called Saber over. She sat at my feet, paying no attention whatsoever to this stupid man and his dog, her eyes transfixed on the laser pen in my hand.

“GO ON THEN, GO PAST”, I shouted, waving him though in a dramatic fashion.

He walked past and I wanted to make some kind of sarcastic comment about him being such a pleasant individual. But I didn’t, I just glowered at him. He kept his eyes firmly forward and if he had looked my way, I probably would have said something, but he didn’t.  His dog stopped and growled at us, but still he kept his eyes forward and just yanked the lead, dragging the dog along with him.

I don’t know why, but this stupid man really angered me. Any normal, polite person would have said “Excuse me, but my dog isn’t very friendly. Would you mind giving us a bit of room while we get past”, which would have been absolutely fine, of course. But instead, he decided to call me a fucking idiot, for not knowing that he had an anti-social dog.

The fucking idiot.