Spy vs. service dog

My 16-year-old nephew and I went to the Spy Museum. He is very good at watching out for me, better than Claren.

The museum was just OK -- not better than the many free museums in the area -- and I was questioned about Claren, making me wonder whether someone had complained and if she was bad.

A guard just asked, what kind of dog is that? and as soon as I said a service dog she said OK and left. What was odd is that there was a dog with a green seeing eye dog vest walking around with a woman who seemed to see OK and didn't seem disabled at all -- at least obviously. They should have asked her.

It was the first time anyone ever questioned Claren. There was one time in a restaurant that a waitress said no dogs, but I ignored her and let the manager set her straight.

At the museum, my nephew got to see one of the various stupid people Claren and I seem to attract. This woman pet Claren, which I would have allowed because it would have been too hard to explain the situation in a noisy museum. But next thing I know, she is practically hugging Claren. I start telling her not to pet her as she is working -- I said it loud enough for my nephew to hear -- but the woman ignored me. I finally pointed out the "Don't pet me I'm working" badge on Claren's vest, and she said, Oh. Mostly, she was done petting her, I think.

At the metro, a woman held the elevator for us with her fingernails, which were about six inches long and wrapped in tin foil. she read Claren's Don't pet me badge and said she needed to get one of those for her, leading me to wonder where she worked.

Everything was pretty boring after that.

And that is how I spent my last day of summer vacation.