Parking when there are dogs around

[TheQuirkyMaker]

I was in our local park yesterday, talking to another dog owner, when an SUV swept in right beside us, halted, and reversed into a parking space. As it reversed, I slapped it on the roof. The driver jumped out, angry, and I think was ready to give me a slap. I said the car park was empty (it was, it serves about 200 cars) and he had no need to park next to us and potentially hit a dog. He said he was parking near the skate park for his children, and our dogs should be on a lead (they weren't). They are elderly, obedient little dogs, and don't need to be on a leash but they are little and could be hit by a car.
I told him to "F--- Off" and felt okay at the time but couldn't sleep last night for worrying who was in the right.
Was I the unreasonable one?

On the off chance this is real, it is not a sensible idea to have a deaf dog off lead in an area that is designated for cars to park in. People do actually have a responsibility to keep their animals safe if they can't do it for themselves.

@TheQuirkyMaker You really should not be taking your dog out at all if you cannot be bothered to guarantee her safety.
Watching a dog get old, especially one with failing health and faculties, is horrible - upsetting at best, traumatic at worst - but it is something you know will happen, right from the time you get them, and it is not an excuse for such appalling behaviour.
I loathe people like you because you tar all responsible dog owners with your dirty brush.

But we only have the OPs word for the manner the car was driven. And given her further posts, and their seeming escalation in ‘frothiness’ and choice language, I’m beginning to wonder about that.

When you say “sweep” in (such dramatic words), you mean they drove in and parked in the most convenient place for them, near the skate park?

Put your elderly wandering dogs on a lead or in the car?

YABVU

Off topic but I've never heard of a collie described as a little dog before, I initially thought you meant some kind of terrior or chihuahua.

I think you know your were in the wrong and are lashing out and blaming others because you know your dog was almost run over because in that moment your conversation was more important than your dog and you feel guilty for that. Just be less anti social in the future.

He reversed without look now……

Of course he did!

It is madness that you have parked near a skate park on a Sunday and then expected nobody else to park near you.

I don't take any notice of how many spaces that are and if I want to park near the skate park, I would park near the skate park whether or not that anybody else was in the next space. It doesn't make any difference to my parking if there's somebody in the next space.

Also, I reverse without looking because my car parks itself in reverse and I look at the screen which has three camera angles so if anybody was watching me park, it would assume I wasn't looking

Well if it’s deaf, keep it on a lead! What benefit is it off lead?

Just like you hold a child’s hand in a car park your dog should be on a lead. It’s a hazardous environment.

Just this.

this reminds me of another thread where the poster let her toddler run arond in a parking garage behind reversing cars, and was then upset a driver almost ran the kid over and didn't apologise enough.

There’s no ‘should’. Why does OP being irresponsible with her dog mean he can’t park where he wants to park?

Op was aggressive, rude, violent and unreasonable. The driver of the car and his children have done nothing wrong. There is nothing that can excuse OP behaviour

I am sorry to say that the attitude of the OP is replicated all over the place with dog owners.

We walk daily and encounter many dogs. Most are fine but a fair few of them run up to us, jump up at us, very occasionally growling or barking and if we have the temerity to sit down then even more of them feel that we want to interact with them. We have had clothes dirtied by muddy feet and on one revolting occasion a dog left a trail of slobber on my partners jeans whilst the owner walked off and didn't even notice.

The one thing that always happens though is that they have attitude if you ask them to keep their dogs away from you. The absolutely believe that their dogs have the right to approach and interact with you whether you like it or not.

We get the usual 'they are friendly' and when we say that doesn't matter we still do not want to interact with their dogs we are abused and told that we are wrong to object.

YABU - why are you allowing you precious dog to be in with a chance of being hit by letting it wander round a car park?!

Your lack of awareness is staggering and your behaviour was appalling. He had children in the car - you smacked the top of the car and swore at him. You should feel embarrassed.

I don’t know what entitled world you live in
to even think he was in the wrong

He didn't run over the dog. You've got no evidence that he doesn't like dogs.

You seem obsessed with them reverse parking, you've mentioned it 5 times.
So long as the dog wasn't in the space, it was still safe despite a car reversing nearby.
You hitting the car was dreadful behaviour.

You're not deaf though right?
And both you and the dog can see the SUV.
This is all on you OP.

Presumably because he didn't expect some psycho to start walloping his car and swearing at him because he had the temerity to park his car in a place specifically designed for that very purpose!

You cant love your dogs that much if you let them just wander around car parks where someone driving a car is hardly an unexpected occurrence!

You're lucky he didn't hit you back or call the police....if you were on your own with your kids and a strange man started hitting your car and told you to fuck off, how would you feel?

😂😂😂.

It's annoying as hell when somebody parks next to you in an empty car park. But you acted like a bit of a knob.

Pedestrians in a car park should only exist to be walking from their car to the location or back, or nipping through to Point C. They shouldn't be stood around yapping with their dogs off the lead

Parking near people using the car park as a social point is perfectly normal

I think you need to just accept that you were in the wrong on this occasion. All the stuff about dogs being babies etc, not relevant.
it's a car park.
for cars.
He didn't screech his car into a dog exercise area and he did nothing wrong.

What an ableist statement. I looked after a little boy with a heart condition. He could use a playpark for a little while, but easy, quick access to the car was essential. So essential he was entitled to a disabled badge. My daughter had badly bowed legs until she was 5, again she could play in a park, but needed to limit her walking distances. I am also a dog owner. He goes on a lead (and stays in the car till I am ready to actually walk him) in car parks. Dogs should not be wandering around car parks.