Grr

I am sore and stove up tonight and my poor little dogs are exhausted. What started out as a really nice walk on a lovely afternoon turned into a nightmare just as we were about to turn the last corner toward home.

A lady around the corner had her two dogs out in the yard and not on a leash. Cheerfully calling "don't worry, they won't bother you", she made no move to restrain the German shepherd and the little runt dog that looked something like a corgi. Apparently she was talking through her hat, because one look at us and her dogs were across the yard and the street like a shot, making a dive for my dogs.

And my dogs went into their customary panic when confronted by strange dogs. Thankfully her dogs were more curious than aggressive, but mine didn't know that. I was surrounded by fur and snapping and slobbering and Coco screaming and Mojo hitting the far end of the leash. The woman was trying to catch hers and they were intent on keeping the game going. I confess that I swatted the German shepherd several times, telling him to get away.

The lady is lucky I was too busy to take a swing at her. She was apologizing non-stop and saying "they never do this" and I'm thinking "you are an utter moron, woman" while trying to calm Coco down and trying to locate Mojo in the melee.

Suddenly I realized the leash was wrapping around my ankle (I have a nice cable burn there now) and the handle pulled out of my grasp and Mojo was gone, headed home as fast as his little stubby legs could carry him. The lady was still apologizing as I took off after him, hoping he didn't run out in front of one of the idiot teen-age drivers who barrel up and down our street. My neighbor was trying to figure out how to help, but Mojo was having none of it. Coco, all for running away from the wolf pack, wrapped her leash around a tree and we had to take a few precious seconds to disentangle her before dashing after Mojo again.

The guardian angels were with us. There were no cars coming. The two dogs were brought under control or lost interest in us. Mojo finally stopped and waited for us to catch up and we lurched toward the house and safety.

It took about 20 minutes for the two of them to calm down. Coco was sopping wet where the German shepherd had slobbered all over her, but she was otherwise ok. All the snapping must have been for show, because neither had any bite marks. I'm the only one who has bruises and contusions from the fracas. I have a bruised thumb and the aforementioned cable burn on my leg.

The two kids have been sticking close to me ever since, periodically smelling my leg where the strange dogs had been pressing against me in an attempt to get past. They periodically lean back against me and look at me like they are saying "damn, that was close".

Let me just say that it is not a fun place to be, caught in a snare of retractable leash lines, with two little dogs in an utter state of panic, a corgi bent on starting a rumble, and a German shepherd as big as I am trying to get through my legs to get better acquainted.

I'm still tempted to go over there and punch that woman's lights out.

LSW