That Time the Matrix Glitched on Me.

 I've written about this before in other social media spots, so if you've seen it before, that was me. 

So let me preface by saying that animals will 100% grab my attention every time. Even if I don't pay much attention to humans, I love cute cats and dogs, and will fawn over them in any setting. 

This happened when I was working the self-checkout area in a very large retail store. The job was not the most mentally stimulating and I was mostly zoned out, but I perked up when a man stepped into the area with a beautiful golden retriever. Now, I wouldn't have noticed the guy at all if it weren't for his canine companion. I of course wanted to pet the dog, but it was obviously a service dog, and I know better to run squealing with grabby hands toward a dog who is on the job. 

The guy was unremarkable. Average height, brown hair, bearded, thin. He was wearing a baseball cap. I want to say it was red, but I don't really remember. I think he wore glasses. The dog was blond, of course. It looked healthy and well-groomed, was very well behaved, and was wearing what looked to be a medical saddle-bag that probably held medication. 

The man and his dog went to the far end of the self-checkout area, directly opposite of where I was standing, and the guy proceeded to scan his items while the dog sat patiently on the floor beside him. I watched the dog the entire time. When the guy finished bagging his items, he and the dog left the self-checkout area and headed toward the exit. I followed them with my gaze until the dog was out of sight.

When I turned my attention back to my work area, there, at the same register, was the same man - average height, bearded, wearing a hat, and his golden retriever with the saddle bags. He was scanning his items, same as before, with the dog sitting patiently on the floor beside him. But he'd just left!

There was no way he and the dog had had time to circle all the way around through the entrance and back to the checkout, even if they were running, which they weren't. It had only been a split second since they'd vanished from my sight. 

Could the guy have had a twin wearing the same clothes, with the same disability, accompanied by an exact service-dog replica? Maybe, but how had they walked past me to get into the self-checkout area without me seeing them. They would have had to pass just a few feet from me, and another dog would have been sure to catch my attention. 

I was discussing this occurrence with a friend recently, and we came to the conclusion that this stuff probably happens a lot more often than we think. We just usually aren't paying much attention. I freely admit that I would not have been paying attention at all, if it weren't for the dog. 

So, what do you think? Time loop? Glitch in the matrix? Is it a rare occurrence, or does it happen all the time? Let me know in the comments.