Yesterday, I took a little jog through a nearby park.
Ahead of me I could see a bunch of free-roaming dogs, with their owners laughing and playing with them, in the grass next to trail. (The owners were nice-looking older ladies.) The dogs were all off-leash in a "must be on leash" location. I was a little hesitant to run by them, because they were very free and very playful. But, unless I wanted to run a 5 mile detour, I had to make my way past the pack of puppies.
With William in the stroller, I began my approach towards the wolves. I tried not to make eye-contact with any of the animals -- I wanted to quietly sneak by. I was doing great, nice and easy, and I THOUGHT the dogs would ignore me. But then, the BIGGEST dog ran from the pack, aimed towards my direction, and jumped up on the back of my leg. The stinking dog scratched my leg on it's way down.
In the meantime, the owners -- who were about 30 feet back from the scene -- were just laughing. (Remember, they looked like nice old ladies.) But they seemed to think it was funny that their good, precious, doggie, was chasing/jumping on the silly jogger.
Really funny, ladies. Thanks.
Now, this is NOT an unusual occurrence. It happens ALL THE TIME! I cannot think of how many times I have had dogs run across a field, just to come and jump on me, while I am innocently trying to jog. It makes me angry (and I do not get angry easily!). I have small children and if any dogs ever mess with them . . .
Well, let's just say, you do NOT mess with my kids!
(I know karate.)
Dog People . . .
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, keep your precious little puppies ON A LEASH!!!
They are NOT as cute as you think they are.
Not everyone wants to "interact" with your dog like you do.
Please. Be kind.
There are leash laws for a reason!
Many Thanks.
(I want to make it clear that I do not hate dogs. I love animals, sort of. I'll be nice to them, if they be nice to me.)
oh mari, you should have given those nice ladies a little what-for. i HATE bad dog people....the good dog people are alright, but the bad ones deserve to be shot. ;)
ReplyDeleteI hear you Mari. When I go running, I often carry a rock in my hand in case I need to use it on a dog. I have learned from the dog whisperer to show "calm assertive leadership" and the dog will obey you. It is hard to stay calm when the dog looks aggressive though. : ) I also have a little bottle of pepper spray. just make sure you aim it in the right direction. : )
ReplyDeleteToo bad not all dogs are like Sage (yes, I'm biased here.)
Kary
Totally agree with this post!
ReplyDelete@Kary: Perhaps I'm plain mean, but I would have loved to see the looks on the faces of those "nice ladies" after the big, over-aggressive dog got hit with pepper spray. (I'm not into animal cruelty, but I do believe in self-defense.)