Intense is the word! And for me it brought back a memory of being attached by a German Shepherd while delivering the newspaper when I was a young boy. The owners of the dog sat on the front step with their dog and assured me it was okay to bring them the paper. I did, and as I walked away I heard the sound of the dog running up behind me and he lunged and sunk his teeth into my rump. i fell to the ground and he was about to bite again when his owner pulled him off. I lay bleeding in their lawn. Yikes, what a memory!
We have two small dogs, a few times when walking them a few larger dogs have broken thru screen doors, jumped fences or just left out unattended. My wife grabs the dogs and I get between them is the plan. So far I've been able to scare the larger dogs and no harm done. I have to walk them separately when alone. One day while walking Benny, a cat strolled up and kicked his ass on the leash.
Another well told story! Our neighbors always have two chocolate labs (like Sith no more, no less, a master and an apprentice). Our Loki is a small Havanese. But he thinks he's a big dog. The neighbor's dogs are known terrors in our area and we forced them into getting an electric fence for their dogs a few years back because they were such a problem. They especially loved getting into people's chicken coops and feating on the hens. A couple years ago, when Loki was barely not a puppy, the dogs were out on our property (the electric fence is often "out of order") Loki ran out our barely cracked front door and headed straight towards the dogs.
The kids were scared to death that Loki would be a goner, like the other neighbor's chickens. I figured Loki had more self-preservation instinct. What I did not figure was that Loki would herd these two dogs, both easily 4x his size back onto their property without any dog barking at all! The neighbors goats were also out and Loki then herded them back. The goats and the dogs have never gotten on our property again.
Havanese were supposedly bread to be the pampered dogs or royalty, but Loki is an incredible herd dog.
Oh yeah. For a time, it was the pit bulls that ran loose, or pulled their owners around the neighborhood park. A couple of shepherds, also. They were always ready to fight. "Don't worry, they're friendly." say the young adult owners, unable to control their dogs. Luckily, my dogs fared well in these "get-togethers", but there was bloodshed and worse for a few.
I could feel the rush of the attack as you described in your story. Good job, Justin!
Really wonderful, gripping story Justin! I love the tension. I remember Zeus well and yes, he was a very sweet dog. Keep us the awesome work and thank you for sharing your talents! Love, Uncle Scott
Congrats on your anniversary! And also--WHAT A STORY. Well, you know I'd be drawn in just because of dogs. But this was so suspenseful! I always wonder why people get dogs like that. And yes, it's the owner, not the dog, blah blah blah, but considering how well-trained they have to be in order to be safe for others, it's just irresponsible for most people to own one, imo. Was this one based on a true story? (Poor Bandit!).
That was intense for a Monday morning 😂 Very well done, Justin. And one year as Along the Hudson, wow, that's pretty wild! Congratulations 🎉 Will we get to hear some sage advice about your time here?
Right now we just have an inside cat, but when other cats come around the neighborhood and look through the doorwall he goes berserker mode. The other cats are always like, "what's that dude's problem." I think he is just jealous they're outside and he's not.
Gosh, Justin - you pulled me right into the thick of this! I'm not at all comfortable around dogs, actually, but I'm glad I read this post regardless. I especially loved this line: "The spring air smelled like mud and worms and hope."
Yay to your forthcoming milestone - a year is brilliant!
Wow, yeah that's a scary situation to meet up with. In the past I have encountered scary looking dogs and have been attack by a dog. I was also attacked by a pet raccoon before. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time usually.
"The spring air smelled like mud and worms and hope. We’d survived another winter, and that alone was cause for celebration." Beautiful, Justin! I have an inordinate fear of large dogs, so this tale was frightening to me, BUT I was charmed by your affection for old Bullwinkle, even though he is such a naughty boy. This story represents you at your best, I think.
This is why I was terrified of dogs for a long time. I never actually sustained a bite, but the thought of what could happen scared me so much! I'm less scared now, but dogs running loose do freak me out to this day. My mom, though, she's been bitten two or three times pretty badly. Needless to say, we are not a dog owning family.
Intense is the word! And for me it brought back a memory of being attached by a German Shepherd while delivering the newspaper when I was a young boy. The owners of the dog sat on the front step with their dog and assured me it was okay to bring them the paper. I did, and as I walked away I heard the sound of the dog running up behind me and he lunged and sunk his teeth into my rump. i fell to the ground and he was about to bite again when his owner pulled him off. I lay bleeding in their lawn. Yikes, what a memory!
We have two small dogs, a few times when walking them a few larger dogs have broken thru screen doors, jumped fences or just left out unattended. My wife grabs the dogs and I get between them is the plan. So far I've been able to scare the larger dogs and no harm done. I have to walk them separately when alone. One day while walking Benny, a cat strolled up and kicked his ass on the leash.
You had me at “dog-centered fiction”!
This story scared my “business” out of me, and had me hanging on every word.
Congratulations on your anniversary! 🎉🥳🍰
Great story. You introduced the characters (dogs especially) very well. Loved how you described walking the dog.
Poor pup, I hope he was ok in the end!
Poor Bandit!
I’m a lifelong cat owner and I love Maddy, our orange striped tabby who lies in the sun all day.
Another well told story! Our neighbors always have two chocolate labs (like Sith no more, no less, a master and an apprentice). Our Loki is a small Havanese. But he thinks he's a big dog. The neighbor's dogs are known terrors in our area and we forced them into getting an electric fence for their dogs a few years back because they were such a problem. They especially loved getting into people's chicken coops and feating on the hens. A couple years ago, when Loki was barely not a puppy, the dogs were out on our property (the electric fence is often "out of order") Loki ran out our barely cracked front door and headed straight towards the dogs.
The kids were scared to death that Loki would be a goner, like the other neighbor's chickens. I figured Loki had more self-preservation instinct. What I did not figure was that Loki would herd these two dogs, both easily 4x his size back onto their property without any dog barking at all! The neighbors goats were also out and Loki then herded them back. The goats and the dogs have never gotten on our property again.
Havanese were supposedly bread to be the pampered dogs or royalty, but Loki is an incredible herd dog.
Oh yeah. For a time, it was the pit bulls that ran loose, or pulled their owners around the neighborhood park. A couple of shepherds, also. They were always ready to fight. "Don't worry, they're friendly." say the young adult owners, unable to control their dogs. Luckily, my dogs fared well in these "get-togethers", but there was bloodshed and worse for a few.
I could feel the rush of the attack as you described in your story. Good job, Justin!
Really wonderful, gripping story Justin! I love the tension. I remember Zeus well and yes, he was a very sweet dog. Keep us the awesome work and thank you for sharing your talents! Love, Uncle Scott
Congrats on your anniversary! And also--WHAT A STORY. Well, you know I'd be drawn in just because of dogs. But this was so suspenseful! I always wonder why people get dogs like that. And yes, it's the owner, not the dog, blah blah blah, but considering how well-trained they have to be in order to be safe for others, it's just irresponsible for most people to own one, imo. Was this one based on a true story? (Poor Bandit!).
That was intense for a Monday morning 😂 Very well done, Justin. And one year as Along the Hudson, wow, that's pretty wild! Congratulations 🎉 Will we get to hear some sage advice about your time here?
Right now we just have an inside cat, but when other cats come around the neighborhood and look through the doorwall he goes berserker mode. The other cats are always like, "what's that dude's problem." I think he is just jealous they're outside and he's not.
Gosh, Justin - you pulled me right into the thick of this! I'm not at all comfortable around dogs, actually, but I'm glad I read this post regardless. I especially loved this line: "The spring air smelled like mud and worms and hope."
Yay to your forthcoming milestone - a year is brilliant!
Needed a distraction and it worked. Got the blood worked up. Glad I chose dog centered fiction, thank you.
Wow, yeah that's a scary situation to meet up with. In the past I have encountered scary looking dogs and have been attack by a dog. I was also attacked by a pet raccoon before. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time usually.
"The spring air smelled like mud and worms and hope. We’d survived another winter, and that alone was cause for celebration." Beautiful, Justin! I have an inordinate fear of large dogs, so this tale was frightening to me, BUT I was charmed by your affection for old Bullwinkle, even though he is such a naughty boy. This story represents you at your best, I think.
This is why I was terrified of dogs for a long time. I never actually sustained a bite, but the thought of what could happen scared me so much! I'm less scared now, but dogs running loose do freak me out to this day. My mom, though, she's been bitten two or three times pretty badly. Needless to say, we are not a dog owning family.