Lightning Strikes Twice

My wife, Abbye and I were halfway around the park during this morning’s walk when the old man hobbled out from the cul-de-sac and onto the sidewalk ahead of us. He had a dog on a leash…a wiry medium-sized female of indeterminate breed, perhaps a terrier mix.

We hung back, to let them move further ahead of us; at that point in our walk, Abbye wasn’t leashed, as she is well-trained to heel, sit and stay…as long as she’s not too close to other dogs.

The man appeared to be in his 80s and limped as if he had severe arthritis or, perhaps, an artificial hip. His dog, whom we heard him refer to as “Ginger,” was active, darting back and forth ahead of him at the end of one of those retractable leashes.

We continued on our usual route around the park, at a safe distance behind the pair. They stopped briefly while Ginger did her business, and the old man stooped with a plastic bag in hand to pick up after her. They resumed their hobbling and darting progress until they came to the fork in the sidewalk where we intended to exit the park and continue on our usual route through the neighborhood.

I was a little puzzled as the old man passed by the trash can just off the sidewalk (he was still carrying the poop-filled plastic bag), and it struck me that he was heading for the dumpster just ahead of us, across the alley. But to get there, he’d have to step over a low slung cable strung between posts set in the ground to act as a simple barrier between the park and the alley. He didn’t appear to be spry enough to complete that maneuver — especially with an active dog on a leash — but I figured that appearances were deceiving. In addition, by that time Ginger had spotted Abbye and was acting a little frantic about it. In fact, we elected to put Abbye back on her leash as we walked past them. I thought it was overly cautious, since we were at least 50 feet away and heading further away, but my wife insisted.

We came to the end of the sidewalk, which intersected with the same alley that the old man was attempting to gain access to, and we glanced over just in time to see exactly what we feared: he caught his trailing foot on the wire, and in seemingly slow motion, fell heavily forward onto the pavement of the alley.

As he hit the ground, he lost the leash. In the blink of an eye, Ginger darted toward Abbye and in a horrible flash of deja vu, snapped at her, sending golden fur flying. My wife screamed and Abbye yelped before I managed to grab the loose end of Ginger’s leash and jerk her away.

Having temporarily dealt with one crisis, we turned to the other. The man was still sprawled on the pavement, although he was attempting to get to his feet, and did so by the time I could get over to check on his condition. About that same time, Ginger jerked on her leash hard enough to pull out of her collar and headed back toward Abbye, who was in my wife’s protective grasp. Ginger kept running, crossing the street and continuing down the alley on the other side.

The old man said he was OK, although his arm was scraped pretty badly. He said that Ginger wouldn’t return while Abbye was still around, so we took that as a hint and left him to his own devices to retrieve his dog and make his way home.

Needless to say, we were absolutely dumbfounded. We’ve had Abbye almost eight years and have never had an encounter with an aggressive dog, and now we’d had two in less than three weeks.

This one has turned out to be a little more serious, too. The other dog actually managed to get to her skin, unlike the black lab. The skin wasn’t broken, but it was red, and she’s really sore this evening, as I write this. In fact, we’ve given her a Rimadyl to take the edge off the pain. We’ll watch her closely and if she’s not better in the morning, it may be time for a visit to the vet.

I know this is just a bizarre set of coincidences, but if anyone knows where we can find a set of body armor for a gentle little dog, give me a holler. We’re not taking anymore chances!

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3 comments

  1. Gah!!
    That’s terrible news! Terrible! Poor, sweet Abbye!!
    It’s to her credit that she’s sweet and gentle! I think some dogs pick up on this and decide to have some canine bully “fun”.
    “In fact, we elected to put Abbye back on her leash as we walked past them. I thought it was overly cautious, since we were at least 50 feet away and heading further away, but my wife insisted.”
    You married a very smart woman, Eric. Listen to her! The moment a dog is unleashed, even a super well behaved pooch like Abbye, it’s a liabilty. I hope I don’t sound preachy, but Abbye should always be leashed, even if it’s totally unecessary. It’s a legal protection if nothing else.
    If things go bad, real bad, the other guy’s attorney will have a very easy time muddling who’s at fault if Abbye isn’t leashed.
    On the flip side, since Abbye was leashed at the time (thanks to your wife’s insistence) and “Ginger” was uncontrolled (leash not withstanding) you would be within your legal rights to take whatever measures are necessary to protect your pet from a dangerous, attacking dog.
    Heck, you live in Texas. Rural Texas. I don’t have elaborate on that. Even us sissified Yankees know how to respond to the situation you faced.
    Now maybe that kind of approach isn’t for you. I can understand that. There are alternatives, however. I can personally recommend the stuff and the company. If you go that route, get the M-4.
    Keep us all updated on how Abbye’s doing!!

  2. Strangely, even in urban Houston (Montrose), plenty of people seem to think it’s great to have their untrained, unbehaved dogs off leash. I can’t say how many walks I’ve been on with Kiwi (my always leashed Aussie/Dobie mix) where these dogs come and cause trouble. Not as much trouble as you faced, but still….
    I’m really starting to consider some dog mace. Kiwi could handle herself against most of the dogs we’ve run across, but it’s not fair when she’s leashed, I’m trying to hold her back, and the other idiot’s dog is causing problems.
    Anyway, sorry for the ramble. I would say definitely carry mace, and use it. It’s a frustrating problem, even in the big city.

  3. While I appreciate and agree with (mostly) all the suggestions about protection, the problem is that both attacks have happened so quickly (and were over with equally quickly) that none of these suggestions would have prevented them.
    I agree that mace is probably effective in driving off a dog from an extended attack, but I’m not sure that my reflexes are quick enough to anticipate and intervene in a hit-and-run situation like this last one.
    Fortunately for Abbye, we were close enough to her in both cases (even though she wasn’t on a leash in the first one, which occurred in our front yard) that effective intervention was possible almost immediately.
    Still, it’s caused me to re-think the “friendly-until-proven-otherwise” philosophy I’ve always had about other people’s pets. For my dog’s sake, I don’t think I can be so cavalier any longer. She hates her leash (she thinks it’s demeaning…seriously) but I suspect that her free-range days are over.

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