Who let the damn dog out!

I have had encounters with one owl protecting its roost, one very large alligator lurking down a swamp road, one goose behind my LSU campus dorm, and another goose in Audubon Park. These incidents scared the heck out of me, though I know when I venture out to run in nature, these sorts of things can happen and are excusable. I have also had unexcusable encounters with drunk teenagers driving in Audubon Park trying to mow me down, one large man smiling with his pants down on the side of the path in Audubon Park as I ran by, and of course dogs barking and chasing me as I run by (which this story is about.)

So, now I am 3 months prego and still running about 4 - 5 much slower 10 minute miles a day, sometimes 3 when I'm feeling less than below average. Anyway, the other day I ran one of my usual routes. A little black poodle runs to the end of its driveway and starts barking and chasing me, I immediately begin to walk. All I need is another dog owner to say, "don't worry he won't bite." I wish I had known that 13 years ago when I was bit on the ankle by a dog who wasn't supposed to bite. So now, I settle for walking when a dog is barking and chasing after me. The poodle's owner calls it in. On my way back home I pass a house with a huge galloping dog barking toward me. I immediately begin walking and say "GIT" really loud. A lady comes to her door and says, "Come in Titan" with a very low tone almost if to say, my poor doggy that lady was mean to him. With a name like Titan you can imagine its size. After she calls him in I grunt really loud. I was a little angry, as I always get when a dog chases me. My pace increased from that point. I often get called on by dogs that are loose and usually get really pissed off and uncharacteristically mean. Really, I could have written the "Who let the dog's out" song very easily if I thought about it. I figure I must be doing some purgatory time, because my own three legged dog use to chase and bark after people all the time, and even snagged the mail man. Of course, I was only about 13 at the time. When I go out for a run, I expect that I might encounter loose barking dogs, and will always begin to walk. It's a little aggravating to have to stop my run because someone let their dog out.

Until next time....