Elsa gives off a very friendly vibe.
I pulled down our park street and made an abrupt turn around; no park on this day, the ticket people sat just around the corner waiting for the unsuspecting to pull over and park. I'd forgotten it was a "street sweep" day when I head to our favorite park. No parking, no park. Now Elsa and I were headed somewhere else, what park should we hit? As I drove down the street I decided to stop at a large strip mall for our morning walk; it was the same one where Elsa and I spent many hours working on socializing when she was little. This was the place where she learned about automatic doors; and that had been an important life lesson for her role in "PBJ and me."
It was still early so there weren't a whole lot of folks out. We hopped out and made our way down the strip. It didn't take long for Elsa to create smiles in the people walking past us. As Elsa sniffed an elderly woman made her way across the street, headed into the CVS. She slowed as she got across the street and was staring at Elsa. She was smiling and called out "what kind of dog is that?" I gave my usual answer to an all too common question "standard poodle." "Really?" she replied. "Yep."
She forgo stepping up onto the sidewalk and headed straight for Elsa. She wanted a closer look and touch, this much was clear. I smiled bringing Elsa over to her and Elsa did as Elsa does, she schmoozed. She wrapped around the woman, wagging and enjoying every moment of this new stranger. The elderly woman was a bit shaky on her feet so I had to hold back Elsa's enthusiasm a bit. When Elsa greets, she greets with gusto; there is no mistaking her love of people when you are met by her.
The woman smiled and gushed with joy as Elsa continued her "I love people" routine. It was a great moment, another one that made me smile. Elsa had made this woman's day and after having a little chat we walked away. I looked back as Elsa did some sniffing and saw the woman watching Elsa with hands on her hips, a huge smile on her face, she let out a chuckle. She'd had an intense connection with Elsa and it was wonderful for all of us; one for the memory bank collection.