I saw a man walking his dog yesterday; the dog was off its leash and walking in absolute lockstep with its owner. 

Impressive, I thought. I wondered how much training he must have done to accomplish such an effortless-looking command or connection with his dog.

I even reflected on my own efforts to train my dog. I thought for a moment about complimenting him and inquiring about his process, but my daughter was dozing off on my shoulder, so they just marched on by.

It was raining, and I was standing under a cover outside a restaurant, and my attention returned to the bigger drops of water that were sliding off the corners of the cover.

A few moments or minutes passed, and then I heard a loud squeal from a dog at the other end of the street.

My attention was immediately brought back to the same man and his dog. He was now flailing, attempting to stop his dog from attacking another dog on a leash, who was submissively crouched on the ground.

The other dog’s owner was looking at him with almost disgust in her eyes that he allowed this to happen.