AM- Well, I had an exciting morning and a new experience. I left my house at 5:15 headed towards the golf course. After less then a quarter mile, with no warning, a big dog suddenly ran out of a yard, crossed the road, and attacked me. Now, I've had lots of dogs run at me, bark, even nip me, and I've had dogs bite me once or twice. But I've never had a dog attack me like this. It was a full-grown, black Rottweiler, and it was vicious. No barking or tail wagging, just snarling, growling, and biting. 100 lbs of teeth. I kept circling on the road, kicking him away with my feet, while he kept charging in, trying to bite. I was extremely fortunate that a car turned onto the road just then. I waved my hands and yelled at it to stop and help. The man rolled down his window, yelling and whistling to distract the dog. He stopped right next to me but it still took me 30 seconds to open the door and hop in, due to the continued aggression of the dog. I was scared out of my mind, my heart was pounding, and the adrenaline was surging. The whole time, another dog (yellow lab, I think) stood in the same yard and barked at the scene. Once in the car, we drove a few blocks down the street while I checked myself to make sure I wasn't bit. The dog didn't follow, so I profusely thanked the man for his help, hopped out, and ran home. The whole attack lasted less than 1-2 minutes, I think, though I can't be sure amidst the fear, adrenaline and confusion. For the first time ever, I called the cops on a dog- there was no doubt that I did not want this dog around- heck, our little 12 year old newspaper girl would be riding down that street at 5:45.
The cops came and found the dog. It tried to attack one of the officers, as well, but then ran off, though I noticed they kept their batons at the ready in their hands for the next 10 minutes. They talked to the property owner, who said the lab was his but not the Rottweiler. The officers said they would send out animal control, then left. I ran around my neighborhood for a while, and will admit I was very jumpy. I even saw a few other dogs in people's yards, with each sighting eliciting a huge adrenaline rush.
Hope I never have that experience again. I have never been that scared or threatened by a dog, and was reminded just how helpless we are against them. It obviously was not a trained attack dog, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this right now. But I know I will be even more cautious of big dogs, esp. Rottweilers and pit bulls, in the future. And to everyone reading this who owns a dog, please keep them restrained at all times, even if they don't have a history of attacking people. You never know what they will do in the dark at 5 am when a stranger runs by.
PM- 12 miles on Green Canyon, with 1800 feet climbing. I love the trail, esp. the new singletrack. My legs were very tired by the end from the mileage recently. And it appears my business trip to FL won't be till next week, so I should be able to run Jupiter Steeplechase. I'm very happy about that. | 