I had just returned to my car after walking my dog in a community dog-friendly park. My car was parallel parked on a side road near the park entrance. Even on a sunny Sunday, this street is usually quiet and no one else was around when I got back to the car.
I noticed this because since my dog is older, loading him takes a bit of time. I had him standing on the sidewalk while I got his water, pulled out his ramp, opened the back of my SUV, unclipped his leash, and helped him inside. After that, I put everything away and closed up the doors and the back.
As I was getting into the driver’s seat, a man walked by with a cat on a leash and started yelling at me – "Close the fucking door next time" and cussing me out for blocking the sidewalk for what he said was “10 fucking minutes.”
I might be the asshole because I genuinely didn’t notice him at all, and the whole process of giving the dog water and loading him up probably did take close to 10 minutes.
On the other hand, he never tried to get my attention or ask me to move. If he had said something like, “Hey, we’re trying to get by,” I would have apologized and moved my dog and myself immediately. Likewise, I understand not wanting to walk his cat by a dog, but the guy could have also gone around the other side given the absolute lack of traffic.
AITA
Nta of I’m understanding correctly.
Dog on side walk, ramp out back not blocking?
Your dog on a sidewalk isn’t blocking anything unless you’re walking a cat that can’t be around other animals then that’s a “you” problem.
Even if your ramp was on the sidewalk i really don’t see how standing around for 10mins then pissing and moaning at ppl because you’re inept would be AH behavior for the person loading their pet.
Especially if you’re so antisocial you can’t voice your concerns
NTA he should’ve communicated like a normal person and asked you to move out of the way if you bothered him that much. I personally would’ve simply walked around. Not a big deal. People complain and get angry far too easily these days.
ESH. You shouldn’t block the sidewalk and he should learn to communicate like a civilized human being, not a lunatic.
NTA
Part of living in a community is about taking up space and adjusting to inconvenience others cause.
Maybe someone takes a long time parking. Or walks slower in a crowd. Or smells funny. Or is loud at a restaurant. Or takes a bit to load their dog into the car.
We aren’t machines, we are people and we all live on earth together so we need to have more sympathy.
NTA. Its not like the sidewalk isn’t public space.
Exactly!. A sidewalk isn’t a conveyor belt. Sometimes people need a minute, especially with kids, pets, or mobility stuff.
Info: were you actually blocking the whole sidewalk? I’m having a hard time envisioning this because I would assume the ramp would be behind your car, hence in the street?
The ramp was behind the car in the street, but the dog was on the sidewalk next to the car and the car door was open. (For additional visioning purposes, this is a residential neighborhood adjacent to an expansive park, not an urban street.)
In this case nta. He could have Said something.
in other words plenty of space to safely walk around the car door.
NTA. Cat walker could have opened his mouth and said “Excuse me, can I get by please?” like a normal person.
I frequent many cat subs, which only added to the hilarity of my brain skipping the word “walker” because I can totally see this from the cats pov on r/amithecloaca politely asking OP to move aside
OMG. haha That is amazing.
Completely off topic, but my next door neighbor’s cat is overweight and the vet said that Sherman (the cat) needs exercise. So for the last week, my neighbor has been “walking” Sherman on a leash in front of our houses. And by “walking”, I mean Sherman has flat out refused to participate in any of this nonsense and just lays down on his left side. My neighbor drags Sherman through his yard, mine, and my other next door neighbor’s, says “fucking hell”, and picks up the cat. Sherman is playing dead and is completely flat and limp while being carried. It has been happening every morning at 7am, when I’m headed to work. I’ve been 5 minutes late to work all of last week. It’s freaking hilarious to watch.
NTA
If someone had a problem with where you were, what stopped them from asking you to move?
Also, who see’s someone taking their elderly dog for a day out, helping them get back in the car, and think “HEY ASSHOLE!!”