She's just not that into you

Those who have met Lucy know that she's a pretty happy dog. Yes, she barks when new people when they come in the apartment (or anyone walks by the door...), she growls if you move your feet when she's trying to sleep on them, and she sighs a lot, especially while falling to sleep at night. But by and large, she's an easygoing kind of beagle. She is dog friendly, though less so than in her younger days. She prefers larger dogs to smaller ones, and she usually just wants to get a sniff, say hi, and be on about her way. She spends most of her time at the park smelling the grass, trolling for bunnies, and rolling on her back in all kinds of unsavory piles. Occasionally, though, there will be a dog or owner who just doesn't get that she doesn't want to play with them. I've got no problem with a dog owner bringing his or her dog over to meet Lucy and let them sniff. But Lucy is pretty clear when she's not interested. She doesn't approach the other dog or walks away after the initial butt clearance check. Unfortunately, not all dog owners seem to read these signals the same way.

Yesterday, there was a lady in the park whose pug-like dog wanted to meet Lucy. They sniffed, Lucy wagged her tail, and then she turned and walked away. I usually say "bye" in that situation to indicate that we're moving on, but in this case, the lady just kept following us. Lucy tried to find a place to poop, and there was this dog. She tried to follow a ripe trail, and there was this dog. It was unclear who was getting more annoyed by all this -- me or Lucy. At one point, I wanted to turn to the lady and her dog (neither of whom, it seemed, understood any English based on my previous attempts at conversation) and say, "Look, she's just not that into you."