Friendly

In the park, it was the single question he dreaded the most. "Is she friendly?", asked the man with his little poodle approaching Ralph and his pom-chi. 

Sure, Ralph's dog was very friendly, her tick-tock tail wagging even when she reflexively growls at the other curious dogs for no reason. For Ralph it becomes a complicated, even troublesome question. 

Friendly doesn't mean knows how to make friends. With people, it's just the same, Ralph thoughtfully reasoned, recalling how he knows friendly, unsociable people, how hard they are to deal with. Or, maybe he's simply thinking of himself, Ralph wondered.

Never liked the dog parks, so his dog's socializing lag is also a reflection of Ralph's parental neglect, he fears others may conclude. He'll be judged. "Why isn't she friendly?" "Don't you love you dog?", they're really wondering, the lifelong critical voices in his own head.

"No. We're not friendly.", Ralph tersely replied, finally avoiding the moment entirely while briskly walking away at an opposite angle. All things considered, it's the best answer.