Not Every Day is a Good Day

I like to think every day has the potential to be a “good” day, but today didn’t seem to be one of those days. Despite waking up with a touch of diarrhea, I wanted to begin my day with a brisk walk, Skye’s first walk in three days.

It was a little chilly out, so I bundled up and headed out the door. Less than a 100 yards from the front door I spotted a large dog running off leash. I immediately headed back toward the house, hoping to avoid a confrontation since Skye invariably becomes aggressive when he spots another dog, especially when the dog is running free.

I didn’t think the dog had seen us, but as we almost reached the front door the dog came running up. I glanced back and could have sworn it was a wolf; I’m still convinced it was a wolf-hybrid that people have complained about here in the Pacific Northwest. Skye is 75 pounds, and this dog towered over him.

By this time Skye was going beserker on me, nearly impossible to control even with his choke chain. I finally got him pushed up against the door with my knees and got behind the glass screen door, all the time trying to get the other dog to back up, or, better yet, go away. He was having none of it. Apparently he wanted to come in the house with us. Naturally, I struggled to get the door unlocked in those tight quarters, and by then I was afraid Skye was going to end up biting me in order to get at the other dog.

I finally opened the door, pushed Skye in, and slammed the door shut as it got even closer. Luckily the dog seemed much mellower than Skye and probably just wanted to be “found.” He stood on the front porch for a little while looking rather wistful, while Skye slammed up against the window barking frantically. I’m sure if Skye hadn’t gotten so aggressive the other dog would have been fine, but I sure didn’t want to find out how long it would remain calm with Skye barking in its face. I certainly didn’t want to have to separate the two in a fight.

Before I’d managed to get my heart stop pounding a neighbor called and asked if I was okay. She’d driven up and heard me screaming at the dog trying to get it to leave. Of course, she thought I was yelling from inside the house, not the front porch. She asked if it was a wolf. She said it was huge, precisely the adjective I would have used to describe it.

Skye still wanted to walk after a couple minutes, much quicker than I did, by the way. Apparently out of sight is out of mind for him. I walked outside several times and looked around before I would even consider taking him for a walk. When we did go out at 1:00 PM, I kept my eyes open and avoided going too far from home.

3 thoughts on “Not Every Day is a Good Day”

  1. strangely a wolf of sorts was at the door of my classroom today. wanting to be noticed. i was able to keep it at bay but the effect was to compel me to take a day of rest tomorrow. my first this school year. i’m glad you’re all safe. steven

  2. I hate when that happens. Diva doesn’t take well to loose dogs approaching her, and I never know how she will react. I wish people would leash their dogs. I always get so upset when these things happen! My sympathies, glad you were able to get Skye into the house!

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