A Dog Story

We are a family of dog lovers. Our two dogs are so precious to us - they are so much a part of our family that it would be hard to live life without them! We have a Puggle (Beagle and Pug mix) and a Dachshund/Pekingese mix (he looks like a long-haired Dachshund).

Every so often, a funny thing happens while walking the dogs. This morning, I took them out for a walk earlier than usual. It was around 8:00 a.m. Up the street, there is a house that has decor out front that reminds me of the house in the movie called "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." They have a scrolled black fence all around the property and several Greek statues scattered all around the front yard. Typically, the dogs that live there are either in the house or in the back yard. I hear them barking occasionally when the dogs and I walk by. However, this morning they were running around in the front yard! One was a big white dog. The other two were smaller dogs; one white and one black. As we approached the fencing area, the dogs came right up to the fence and barked. Suddenly, all three were out of the fenced area charging up the street towards us! I didn't know what to do at first. My dogs had never done the "meet and greet" with these dogs so I didn't know whether or not they would be friendly. I was ready to pick both of them up in case the big dog pounced on them. But he was friendly, as were the other two smaller dogs.

Next, a man dressed in pajamas and flip flops walks up the street towards us. All the dogs were mingling together, but then a large red truck started zooming up the street towards us. I waved my hands at the driver telling him that there was a small loose dog in the path of his truck! Luckily, he slowed down, and then drove by slowly when the dogs were clear of his path.

Meanwhile, pajama man caught up with us, but his dogs all took off up the street. I told him, "you are probably going to need a car and some leashes to catch your dogs!"

I tried to grab the collar of one of the dogs but it dashed away before I could catch him. The man continued up the street while I walked in the same direction towards my home.  He obviously was thinking that he would capture all three of the dogs himself. I thought, "fat chance" but didn't say anything to him directly. My hint to get the car and some leashes apparently fell on deaf ears.  At least he did have one leash and was able to capture his own black dog.

As we walked up the street, I learned that this man had recently ( 2 months ago) moved back into his parent's home. The small black dog (which he successfully captured) was his. The other two dogs belonged to his parents. As we were walking along (and the two dogs were running up the street, far away from us) he told me that this has happened before. Apparently, the dogs have escaped under the driveway entrance gate because it is high enough up off the ground that even the big dog could easily escape under it! The man told me that the three dogs don't usually leave the yard - unless they see other dogs on leashes coming down the street. (No....DUH!! I thought.)

He apologized for the disruption the dogs were causing to our walk. I said that I was concerned that his loose dogs might get hit by a car. He mentioned that one time, two of the dogs owned by the parents got out and were gone for two hours! They came back filled with dirt, brush and burrs in their hair! He mentioned that they headed for the gully, a wooded area between two houses just up the street from my home. I know the area very well! Coyotes like to hang out in that spot. This is why we can't even leave our dogs unattended in our fenced in back yard.  Coyotes can jump high and over most back yard fences! I didn't tell pajama man all of this, but perhaps next time I will share the recent horror stories I have learned about coyotes attacking dogs in the area.

A neighbor across the street from me said that one day she and her dog were confronted by three coyotes!! She stopped dead in her tracks, but the coyotes ran away. Then she told me that a coyote got a neighbor's dog (they live at the top of the cul-de-sac) in its jaws and the woman grabbed her precious Hannah from the coyote! Hannah had to get stitches all along her belly! Thank God the dog lived!!  Brave owner to get her dog out of the jaws of a coyote!

I am always appalled when I see any dog owner letting their dog(s) run loose in an area where coyotes roam free. Next time I see pajama man, I will be sure to tell him that!! His parents need to block off the fence gate area so that the dogs can't get out!

And I'm getting some pepper spray for protection!