Let me start by saying that it was a long, long day.
I work as a sales representative for a home warranty company… It’s not glamorous. And I don’t get to wear a cool headset like my roommate. Basically I work out of my car or my house, alone, day in and day out. Chatting with Realtors here and there. Today (and tomorrow) my new Boss Lady is in town. Which means, I am not jamming out to my normal tunes “The Muppets Soundtrack” or “Call Me Maybe” in between office visits. (Although… Note to Self - “Call Me Maybe” could be a spectacular sales video for me… more to come on that another day!)
I also have a border collie. You know, half of this blog title. Chloe is a whopping 40-ish pounds give or take how much swimming and cat herding she has been doing. I love her, so don’t get me wrong when I say this, but when I get home from work the last thing I want in my face is an energetic border who requires a walk and some good tennis ball throwin’.
Today we took our normal mile loop walk. As we were rounding the last turn one large (70ish pound) dog came chasing after us. My Alpha Dog immediately tried to tell him she was boss. Until his other two brothers rounded the corner and started circling us like sharks. I was proud that Chloe immediately aborted her “fight” mentality and quickly sought her “flight” out of there! Unfortunately, as they were circling us and nipping at her heels, flight meant “climb up on top of your mom, she will protect you.”
These dogs had jumped their fence. I was yelling for help in the middle of the street when finally their owner came out to be of very little assistance. I stood there yelling, kicking, and then eventually crying. My dad always told me to never get in the middle of a dog brawl. But what was I to do? I was already in the middle of it. Do I continue to act as Momma Bear, hugging my pitiful mutt or save myself and get the heck out of the circle? I continued to kick. And cry. Until it was all over.
The neighbor lady finally rounded up the last of her k-9s and quickly slammed the door as I was yelling “Are they all put away?” I saw her festive fall wreath bounce against the closed door and never got a response or a quick “Hey are you alright? I’m so sorry!” Really lady?! Really? Doesn’t common courtesy tell you to at least check on the sobbing blond and the tail-tucked border to make sure your dogs didn’t bite them? Nope. Apparently not.
I am telling you this story to vent a little. It was a pretty traumatic experience. But I am also telling you this because it caused quite the discussion on my personal facebook page. “Call the Cops!” was the first reaction of most. “Call animal control and the media” was the second. Both are very natural and understandable reactions but I did not call either.
Dogs jump fences and people are jerks, it’s life. Trust me, I would love to call her out on her actions - and I just might do that tomorrow when I walk past her house again, packing some pepper spray in my pocket. But I would hate to think that her animals might be taken away by the city because they jumped the fence and caused a 4-dog-scuffle. I’ve walked that loop a million times, and this was the first time anything has ever happened. Let’s just hope it doesn’t happen again.
Moral of the story - My pets are more than my blog title. They are my family. Thankfully I was much more upset after today’s run-in than Chloe. I am thankful for her and her cuteness. Even when she smells like butt. However, I am curious what YOU would do if you were in this situation. I know almost all of you are pet owners and lovers… how would you have reacted?
This was in Savannah.
