I love to run. Not just because it allows me to feel justified in eating whatever I want, but because of how accomplished I feel when I'm done and how peaceful my mind becomes when it is focused on just putting one foot in front
of the other.
I run about 2 to 3 times per week and I always take my 1 year old, Collie mix, named Obi, with me. He is a wonderful running companion albeit a rather wimpy one. He is a rescue dog and, given that his first two months of life were spent in constant stress, he still has fearful reactions to strollers, skate boards etc. but we're working on that!
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| The brave and fearless Obi |
Last night, around 8:00 pm Obi and I headed out for our evening run. We were about a half mile in,
Clark Gables, a song by The Postal Service, had just begun playing in my ear buds. Suddenly a pit bull boxer-looking mix appeared in the bike path about 100 feet ahead of us. I could see that he had a harness and with bushes partially blocking my view, I assumed his owner was just out of view. I was wrong.
Obi and I came closer, the pit bull boxer mix had disappeared behind the bush but I very quickly realized this very large dog was alone, off leash, and there was no owner in site. The dog was not out-rightly aggressive (probably because my dog is so extremely submissive). However, he was intensely dominant. I stood between Obi and this pit bull (big no no, I know) and in a deep, loud voice shouted "NO, GO HOME!" I did this a few times but the dog could care less. I backed Obi and myself away from the dog to a nearby house. A woman answered the door, she stayed inside (probably afraid of the very large dog, looming over us.) She called Animal Control for me, while I called my husband to come meet me with a leash. I maintained my stance between the pit bull and Obi while I waited. The woman inside the house informed me that Animal Control was closed for the evening. Even though this dog was rather frightening, I still felt that we should try to bring him home so he wouldn't get hit by a car, or endanger other people/dogs. My husband arrive a few minutes later with a leash and this domineering pit bull quickly turned tail and ran into the woods. So much for bringing him in for the night!
So what did Obi and I learn?
We need to invest in some pepper spray and a blunt object to stave off future aggressive dogs (or people).
Good ole Wiki-How has some helpful tips as well:
http://www.wikihow.com/Handle-a-Dog-Attack
