We almost got keeled!! 8O
It's a beautiful day out today, the kind of day that makes you extremely sad that it's just going to be freezing again in a couple of days. When I let my dog Duchess outside to do her business, I couldn't believe how warm and spring-like it was, and decided that Duchess was long over-due for a walk.
As soon as she saw her leash, her tail began launching her in every direction; she knew what was coming, and agreed with me that it was definitely about time. I grabbed a *light* jacket, my keys, leashed her, and we were off.
Since we moved into our new house in August of last year, I didn't get around to taking many walks in our new neighborhood before it got really cold, and hadn't gotten to see how quaint and lovely our little street really is. Duchess had her nose down, eyes forward, and tail wagging; She's a real pro at this. I couldn't help thinking how truly amazing everything was going to look when the trees began filling out again, and when the flowers were all blooming with the coming of the warmer months. It’s all very exciting, actually. Nature really helps me put everything in perspective, and makes me feel closer with everything around me.
Duchess and I turned a corner, now walking up a level street for once; our neighborhood seems to be nothing but hills, so you’re usually either heading up or down. I looked down for a moment at my dog, who was finally beginning to pant... I figured we should be heading back to the house. After all, she hadn’t been on a real walk in months, I didn’t want to exhaust her.
When I looked up, I stopped, and Duchess followed my lead, but not because I had tugged on her leash... She had seen it, too. Probably before me.
At the other end of the sidewalk, (where we happened to be standing rather awkwardly in the direct middle, I might add) there stood possibly the most gorgeous white German Shepard I had ever seen. For those who know me well, it’s common knowlegde that Shepards are one of my all-time favorite breeds, and I go especially nuts over white and black coats. My first reaction was to marvel at how stunning this animal was... It was one sexy pup. However, I soon realized that the dog was not in a yard, but standing on the sidewalk, and without a leash or a visable human. Perhaps reading my new expression, the dog’s ears flattened against it’s head, it’s tail stood stiff behind it’s body, and it slowly began approaching us. Duchess and I actually exchanged a look... Describing it wouldn’t really do it justice, I suppose it was just sort of like: eek
Not knowing what else to do, I scooped up Duchess and tucked her under my arm, (I keep forgetting that she’s actually pretty heavy...) and just sort of stood there stupidly, awaiting my possible doom. I tried talking to it, “Umm... Hey, there, pup... Whacha doin’?” but it pretty much ignored me and continued on. To make matters worse, another dog appeared from around the corner, equally as large, and ran off after it’s friend, watching us with growing interest. Duchess began her warning growls as the Shepard came within a couple of feet from me, which I was trying to prevent her from doing so as not to further annoy our new friend. Finally, both strange dogs were circling us, sniffing us in various places and keeping their eyes trained on us. I used my free hand to pet the Shepard, because I really couldn’t help it. Even if it was about to eat us, it was a seriously sexy dog.
Suddenly, a man appeared around the same corner from wence the dogs had emerged, looking around. He finally spotted the awkward gathering on the sidewalk and yelled at his dogs to come back, which they did, although reluntantly. I let out a long breath, and let Duchess down after they were back at their master’s side.
“Sorry about that,” the man laughed, and as I walked nearer, I could see that he was holding a fishing-rod that he had customized into a sort of automatic ball-flinger. “They usually don’t go off like that, but they’re getting pretty old.”
“Oh, that’s fine...” I said, laughing in a giddy manner. I was just happy I still had all my limbs. “No harm done.”
Duchess watched the dogs carefully as we passed their house and hurried down the street. When finally the house was out of sight, I started laughing, feeling slightly foolish for being so afraid. Duchess looked up at me with her tail wagging excitedly, perhaps concuring with my laughter. I sighed, and looked up at the sky... Aside from everything, it had been an interesting experience, I supposed.
I knew there was something wrong when I heard jingling behind us, and I knew there was something wrong when Duchess stopped and turned, and her tail stopped wagging, just as if she, too, had stopped laughing... “Aww, crap...” I turned, only to see the same white German Shepard booking down the street after us, looking pretty damn determined. Duchess didn’t need to be directed; the two of us took off, racing down the street and whirling around the corner to another sidewalk, rushing off toward home. We could hear the dog’s owner calling the Shepard back in annoyance, and finally, when we were positive it was no longer chasing us, we stopped, panting.
I’m happy to report that we made it home in one piece. I gave Duchess a treat when we got home, for all of her heroic efforts. ^_^;;
Can’t wait for Spring! rofl
View User's Journal
 |
musapan
Community Member |
